Hunter S. Thompson's weed is coming to pot shops soon
The late, great Hunter S. Thompson was well known for his contribution to journalism. But he was also known for his love of getting f*cked up.
Now, thanks to a new deal with Hunter's widow Anita Thompson, his precious, personal weed strain may be coming to a pot shop near you.
Anita says that she is frequently approached by ganjapreneurs wanting to slap Hunter's name on a weed strain. But she didn't want to do that unless it was a genuinely his. Well, she recently struck a deal with the trust that has been overseeing Hunter's 42-acre estate dubbed Owl Farm that's located in Woody Creek, Colorado, just a short drive from Aspen, according to the Aspen Times.
She no longer owns the rights to Hunter's book sales, but she now owns the property, where Hunter lived from the mid 1960s until 2005 when he died by suicide, and his "likeness."
“So I own the house, the property, the logo and Hunter’s likeness,” Anita told The Aspen Times, where she also talked about keeping authenticity behind any marijuana that would want to use his name.
Image: Alan Hillyer/Writer Pictures WORLD RIGHTS (Writer Pictures via AP Images)
“If I put Hunter’s name on somebody else’s strain I can never go back and say, ‘No, this is the authentic one,’” Anita explained to the Times.
Anita told the Times that she has six different strains of cannabis that Hunter used to smoke and is now working with a company to grow those strains (or hybrids of them) and sell them to the public in the form of recreational marijuana. More specific details of the strains such as their origin were not immediately available.
She later clarified on Facebook that she has been saving some of Hunter's old pot and hash for over 12 years.
"I have found a legal method to extract the DNA from Hunter's personal marijuana and hashish that I saved for 12-15 years. I am in the process of making the strains available to those who would like to enjoy the authentic Gonzo strains in legal states," Anita wrote.
Having a branded pot strain isn't exactly uncommon in recent years. Snoop Dogg has his own cannabis company, Wiz Khalifa has has a strain and Willie Nelson recently launched his own.
Image: LEafs by snoop
Anita says that she held off on diving into the cannabis world in the years after Hunter's death because she wanted to keep the conversation on his literary work, but now she feels like she can speak more openly about his atypical lifestyle.
“I was always steering toward his work and away from his lifestyle, but now I feel like I can talk more openly about his lifestyle,” she said. “I’m proud to do it now. Before, it was a little too risky.”
“I’m looking forward to being a drug lord," Anita joking told the Times.
Profits from the weed deal will go towards renovating Owl Farm in order to turn it into a museum and writer's retreat. Anita says she found inspiration for this after visiting Hemingway Preserve, Ernest Hemingway's last home.
Owl Farm aims to open to visitors by May 2017 by appointment only.
Mashable has reached out to Anita Thompson for additional information and comments.
