Former New York Knicks talent Al Harrington, who played for several teams during his NBA career, has invested roughly $5 million into the weed business.
It is 2018, friends. Get your mind out of the gutter. Everything here is legal.
A 16-year NBA career, Harrington did a pretty cool news hit with Vice, discussing how he now not only touches marijuana for his own use, but how he’s invested $5 million in a cannabis company that he’s hoping to make a profit out of, but also help people with.
“The first thing I started thinking about was how can I go back into my old community and try to uplift the community by bringing this industry there and creating jobs,” Harrington told Vice News.
Harrington’s company is called Viola Extracts. To summarize it, the company makes marijuana extracts that are sold in dozens of stores.
“I really feel like my company is going to change people’s lives,” he told Vice. “It’s going to change people’s lives through opportunity, it’s going to change people’s lives through medication and through education.”
In terms of what probably stood out the most in the interview was Harrington’s discussion about it being difficult for people without money to get in the marijuana business.
“Hell no … they can’t afford it,” he told Vice. “At the end of the day, it costs so much to even submit an application … hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“That’s why I have to continue to try to be an advocate to change some of the laws and break down some of the barriers so that we can allow some of the smaller people to participate and we can really uplift our community with this plant.”
Al Harrington is doing some pretty cool things outside of basketball. Here’s to hoping he can help in all the areas he’s trying to.
Credit: clutchpoints.com
