There’s a mass cannabis exodus out of California, and, no, that’s not a reference to the Bob Marley song, although you should snag Marley Natural while they’re still in the golden state, Cali friends. However, another stoner icon legacy brand, that of San Francisco-born Jerry Garcia, the late co-founder and lead vocalist for The Grateful Dead, Garcia Hand Picked cannabis line, is saying goodbye to the Golden State, SFGate reports. Cue up “Fire on the Mountain,” although climate change isn’t California’s only problem. 

While for decades, cannabis growers, entrepreneurs, and aficionados found a green paradise tucked away in the libertarian Emerald Triangle (a region in Northern California, including Humboldt County, named for being the largest cannabis-producing region in the United States) or the liberal counterculture of the cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, when California finally legalized, well, the Fed’s red tape and impossibly high barriers to entry left even the most recognized names in cannabis unable to turn a legal profit in the state. 

“We’re taking a pause in California. We want to ensure CA consumers have the highest quality flower for the long term, so we are in the process of choosing a new local partner for cultivation, production, sales, and distribution of Garcia Hand Picked in CA,” a spokesperson from Holistic Industries, the brand’s parent company, wrote in an email to SFGate.

Previously, Garcia Hand Picked sourced its cannabis from legacy farmers in the Emerald Triangle, growers perhaps Garcia even once enjoyed, although now the brand is looking for a new supplier. Working with legacy farmers earned the brand valuable street cred (celebrity cannabis brands can have a rap for being corny, and many consumers prefer their weed without a famous face attached), but it wasn’t enough. Despite California’s reputation as the U.S.’s cornerstone for cannabis, to say it’s a tough market is an understatement. Trying to sell cannabis in California is an almost impossibly expensive operation due to complicated regulations, high taxes, and the plethora of troubles that come with banking. Due to Federal laws, cannabis companies do not have the same access to loans. And according to the Marijuana Revenue and Regulation Act, weed businesses pay an effective federal tax rate as high as 80%. 

Recently, other celebrity cannabis brands faced similar woes. According to Celeb Stoner, in January, Jay-Z’s Monogram brand began restructuring by The Parent Company, and Canada’s Cronos Group made the call to kill Kristen Bell’s Happy Dance CBD skincare line to “reduce U.S. operating expenses.” According to Bloomberg, few celebrity cannabis brands have managed to turn a profit. In addition to the giant financial hurdles, as long as cannabis remains a Schedule I substance under Federal Law, there are vast marketing hurdles. For instance, radio advertising is illegal, even in states where cannabis is not. And, if celebrity cannabis brands that come pre-approved by a household name and cash behind them are failing, think of the barriers to entry smaller companies face, especially those owned by POC and anyone else affected by the War on Drugs.  

While they pull out of California, Garcia Hand Picked is still available in five other states. However, the next time you smoke up in Cali while the Grateful Dead plays in the background, if you’re like many others, you’ll opt for the black market, just like Jerry himself smoked. Because as California’s mass cannabis extinction event demonstrates, sadly, state legalization is not the pipe dream (pun intended) so many of us hoped for. 

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Garcia Hand Picked, the cannabis brand founded by the family of legendary Grateful Dead lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, entered its fifth legal cannabis state today with an expansion into Colorado’s competitive recreational weed market. A collaboration between multistate operator Holistic Industries and Colorado craft cultivator Veritas Fine Cannabis, the Garcia Hand Picked line of cannabis products and merchandise was created in partnership with the family of the late Jerry Garcia.

“It’s an honor to finally have a presence in Colorado, one of our nation’s most discerning cannabis markets,” Trixie Garcia, one of Jerry’s daughters and spokesperson for the Garcia family, said in a statement. “Garcia Hand Picked works with an exclusive network [of] local growers in each market we’re in that have become part of the Garcia Hand Picked family, and we’re excited to bring only the highest quality, curated cannabis to our fans and friends in Colorado.”

Garcia Hand Picked debuted in California in 2020 and is now available in more than 300 dispensaries in California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts and Oregon, with plans to expand to Michigan soon. According to market analyst BDSA, the collaboration is the leading celebrity cannabis brand in the United States. The strains available for the Colorado launch, which are named after songs written by Jerry Garcia and are selected to be perfect for any time of day, include Morning in Marin (Sativa), Love in the Afternoon (Hybrid) and After Midnight (Indica), among others.

In California, Garcia Hand Picked recently launched a program called Hand Picked Farms to support independent and legacy farmers, offering flower that is “Sun and Earth Certified,” meaning that it is sungrown in the ground without chemicals by farmers who are paid fairly for their work. Consumers can look for the “Sun and Earth Certified” Hand Picked Farms sticker on packs of Garcia Hand Picked flower sold in California dispensaries.

The Garcia Hand Picked line also includes a curated selection of premium indoor cannabis flower in collectible and re-usable glass jars. Each product is paired with a specially selected playlist of Jerry Garcia’s music that corresponds with the strains to create a unique brand experience. Fans can go to the “Music Never Stopped” section of GarciaHandPicked.com to listen to the musical selections.

Holistic Industries notes in a statement from the company that Jerry Garcia rarely smoked weed by himself, instead preferring a shared joint, which “became a bridge between him and those around him.” To honor that spirit, the Hand Picked Garcia line has emphasized pre-rolled joints featuring a custom glass tip with Jerry’s handprint, offered in eco-friendly packaging made from recycled paper. Other products in the collection include Jerry’s Picks, cannabis gummies shaped like Jerry’s actual guitar picks, which will be coming to the Colorado market soon. Merchandise, including apparel and accessories with original artwork by Jerry Garcia, the Garcia Hand Picked logo, and other designs will be available.

Jerry Garcia: Groundbreaking Artist and Weed Icon

Jerry Garcia was the co-founder, lead guitarist, vocalist, and lead songwriter for the counterculture rock band the Grateful Dead, which rose from the 1960s San Francisco Bay Area scene of drugs, music, and social change. A groundbreaking artist with a career that spanned more than 30 years, Garcia was inducted with the Grateful Dead into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, just a year before he died of a heart attack at a California drug rehab facility.

To celebrate the upcoming 80th anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s birth on August 1, the Colorado launch of Hand Picked Garcia will feature Bertha, a custom Airstream trailer that tours the country filled with music and merchandise, at The Jerry Garcia Symphonic Experience at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado on June 29. Bertha will then tour select dispensaries across the state through the Fourth of July holiday weekend to mark the launch of Hand Picked Garcia to the Colorado market.

“Playing music in Colorado was always a high point for Jerry, he dug the closeness of the audience and the energy that flowed more freely in the mountain air,” said Jerry’s daughter Annabelle Garcia, a spokesperson for the Garcia family. “The hidden stories in the rocks were a source of cosmic speculation and inspiration on the long drives to and from the shows. For Jerry, every ridge held a secret treasure, or an alien spacecraft, or a Bigfoot listening to the shows.”

“Red Rocks is the perfect venue to celebrate our Father’s 80th birthday! Where the sky and mountains meet, we will make a joyful noise and spread some good lovin’,” added Trixie Garcia. “The symphonic interpretation of these cherished tunes elevates them to an otherworldly place, and when ‘Terrapin Station’ erupts, and the big instruments start to resonate, it’s going to be very powerful!”

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