Last Updated on April 28, 2018
On July 1st, 2018, Canada legalized marijuana, and rapper Snoop Dogg wanted to be a part of it. His venture capital firm is investing in the cannabis inventory management software provider Trellis. The Toronto-based company develops software that helps cannabis-specific businesses with seed-to-sale tracking.
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Snoop Dogg is famous for being a weed-lover. So, it should not be surprising that his investment company, Casa Verde Capital, invests in firms that support the cannabis industry. However, he only invests in ancillary or so-called “No Touch” companies. These companies only provide a product or service to the cannabis industry itself. However, they don’t touch the plant or any form of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. “No Touch” companies, like Trellis, usually help the “plant-touching” businesses and the dispensaries. Their services include packaging, marketing, or financial and legal advice.
Investment In Trellis
Trellis has even bigger plans than just selling its products in Canada. The company already has customers in California. The next step could be setting up shop in any other states that have legalized marijuana for recreational and medicinal use.
Snoop Dogg’s $2-million seed round investment “elevates the discussion and helps to boost our brand visibility,” according to Pranav Sood, the CEO of Trellis. Casa Verde Capital was not the only company interested in grabbing a piece of the fast-growing Canadian cannabis industry. Argonautic Ventures, One Gun, and Gateway (a California-based incubator focusing on cannabis startups) also contributed funding.
Furthermore, according to one announcement, three varieties of the rapper’s own brand of marijuana will be available in Canada. They would run under the name “Leafs By Snoop.” However, only those who register with the Canadian producer will be able to buy the rapper’s exclusive strain. At the time of writing, these are Sunset, Ocean View, or Palm Tree CBD.
Snoop Dogg’s Other Investments
It was not the only big investment that Casa Verde Capital made at the end of 2017. It led a $1 million seed round investment in Cannalysis, a cannabis lab working with medical and recreational marijuana. Cannalysis’s main profile is testing the potency and chemical residue of cannabis products. In addition, they also have a webpage that is integrated with the online dispensary locator, WeedMaps.
In conclusion, 2018 was an exciting year for the cannabis industry. California’s recreational cannabis market has been open since January 1st, and Canada’s will open soon, too. More than ever, Snoop will be hoping that people follow his advice in his famous song The Next Episode and “Smoke weed every day”. There are not a lot more lyrics we can get away with printing from that song. For now, let’s just end with La-da-da-da-dahhh…
