Viola Brands
Audio By Carbonatix
Al Harrington spent almost two decades in the NBA and has been in the legal weed business almost as long.
After a sixteen-year career that included two seasons with the Denver Nuggets, Harrington founded Viola Brands, one of the largest Black-owned cannabis companies in the country, here in Colorado. He’s in a unique position to pounce on the relaxed marijuana rules in the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), but according to Harrington, there probably won’t be big changes any time soon.
The NBA’s new marijuana policy officially removed the plant from the league’s banned substance list while also allowing players to invest in licensed pot companies in states where marijuana is legal. Although Harrington calls it a big step forward, the CBA’s new rules won’t result in many immediate changes, he says. If anything, the NBA is late to the party.
“When the NBA told players they weren’t testing for cannabis during the pandemic in 2021, that was probably the biggest step. Once that happened, you kind of knew the walls were falling and they were safe,” he says. “I think they were all already investing, anyway, but now they can put their names on it.”
The NBA made that temporary pause on marijuana testing permanent, but the league was technically behind Major League Baseball and the National Football League in officially removing marijuana from its banned substance list, Harrington points out. And while the new investment rules are somewhat groundbreaking in professional sports, we won’t see an NBA player’s face on their own dispensaries any time soon. Per the new CBA, players cannot own 50 percent or more of a licensed marijuana company, nor can they endorse any weed brands – only CBD and hemp businesses.
While marijuana brands that are sold in dispensaries are still off-limits for player endorsement deals, Harrington believes more rules will loosen with time. Given that notable NBA players such as Kevin Durant and Draymond Green have been open about their marijuana use in recent years with little pushback, he expects the transition to be smooth.
“They make it kind of gray in the beginning just to see the perception and what happens with the fan bases, but they know [players have] been consuming throughout the season,” Harrington explains. “Yeah, it’s only CBD right now and no THC endorsements, but there are CBD companies that also have cannabis companies. There are definitely ways around that.”
Whether it’s endorsing his CBD brand, Harrington Wellness, or cannabis-adjacent merchandise such as clothing, grinders or rolling trays and “things that aren’t directly correlated” with marijuana, there will be more options on the table with NBA players, Harrington adds.
Named after his grandmother, Viola was founded by Harrington in 2011 as a medical marijuana brand in Denver. It’s now a multi-faceted marijuana company that sells flower, extractions and edibles across nine states. As Viola ascended, Harrington began netting deals in the basketball world, including an endorsement deal and product line with NBA legend (and former Denver Nugget) Allen Iverson, as well as a partnership between Harrington Wellness and the NBA Players Association.
Although he’s not prepared to share details yet, Harrington says conversations with NBA players and league executives are already happening. A significant number of players have long been interested in adding marijuana interests in their portfolios in a more public way, according to Harrington, and he doesn’t think recent downturns in legal markets will scare them off.
“That [NBPA partnership] helps, and it put me in the lead for bigger potential partnerships with the NBA, and it’s obviously been a big goal of mine,” he says. “We don’t have anything imminent, but I’ve definitely talked to a bunch of guys about different things, whether it’s creating their own brands or finding their own strains. By the beginning of next year, we’ll have more announcements.”
