Ex-Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams’ football career will forever be marred by controversy and pot smoke. However, it appears that the plant that once forced the halfback into a temporary exile will now be responsible for the launch of a promising post-football career.
Ricky Williams Enters The Cannabis Industry
On Tuesday, the 40-year-old Williams announced the launching of his own medical marijuana brand, Real Wellness by Ricky Williams.
The line, which includes six products sold as salves, vape cartridges and tonics, will cater to consumers interested in alternative medicine. More specifically, the products, which contain either CBD, THC, or a mixture of the two components, along with a variety of natural extracts, will be marketed heavily towards women.
“Surprisingly enough, our research found that the main demographic coming into the [cannabis] market are women ages 35 to 60,” Williams told the Sun Sentinal. “Cannabis coming on the scene is a reemerging of herbalism back into our culture.”
For Williams, who now resides in California, the opportunity to have a legitimate career in the burgeoning medical marijuana business, is a dream come true.
Williams has advocated for medicinal marijuana since he retired with the Dolphins back in 2011, and has extensively studied the therapeutic effects of the plant for over a decade.
“I am known as a professional football player,” Williams said in a phone interview Monday. “In the last 14 years, I have been educating myself and training as a healthcare practitioner.”
While Williams will certainly have competition in an industry expected to reach $50 billion by 2026, the ex-halfback believes his company has what it takes to become pioneers of the ever-expanding market.
“We’re taking the idea of medicinal marijuana to the next step,” he said. “Cannabis is real and it’s here, and a lot of people have no idea what they’re doing. I have a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge from my experiences and my studies to share,” Williams told Bloomberg.com.
Williams is currently working alongside OutCo, a Southern California medical marijuana dispensary and consulting firm, to ensure product quality. The medications will initially be sold between $35-$70, depending on the item.
Williams says his products will hit the shelves at exactly 1:50 on Tuesday, a time he deciphered through the use of astrology. The products will be available online during the spring.
Final Hit: Ricky Williams Announces Plan To Launch A Medical Marijuana Brand
For those familiar with the football career of Ricky Williams, the former first overall pick’s second career should come as little surprise.
Williams first retired from football back in 2004, for which he later admitted was almost solely due to his love for weed, and was suspended for the entire 2006 season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
However, Williams wants to be remembered for his holistic approach to alternative medication, rather than his exploits on the field.
“The whole purpose of this for me is to help facilitate my public persona transitioning from being a former football player to being a healer,” he said. “It’s been difficult for people to appreciate who I am as a healer because of the success I had as a football player.”
Williams is just the latest of a long list of celebrities to get in on the Green Rush. Rappers Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa, author and comedian Chelsea Handler, former NBA player Al Harrington and most recently, KISS frontman Gene Simmons, have all thrown their name into the proverbial hemp hat.
And as cannabis legalization continues, look for that list to get even longer.
