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Billionaire rapper Jay-Z has joined the fast-growing marijuana industry, following his appointment as Chief Brand Startegist by California based cannabis company, Caliva.
The company said on Tuesday that Jay-Z will focus on outreach and the creative direction of the company.
The 49-year-old entertainment mogul is the latest celebrity to enter the marijuana industry as its legalisation for recreational use spreads across the United States and Canada. Rapper, Snoop Dogg, already has his own brand, Leafs by Snoop, and in 2016, actress Whoopi Goldberg launched a line of medical marijuana products aimed at providing relief from menstrual cramps.
Caliva also stated that with his position, Jay Z will further his social justice efforts by increasing job training for former prisoners while promoting quality and fairness in the development of the legal marijuana industry.
Earlier this year, Jay Z helped to launch Reform Alliance, a criminal justice group whoch aims to get up to one million Americans out of jail and on probation or parole in the next five years.
Jay-Z’s entrance into the marijuana is being watched woth keen interest especially because last month, Forbes magazine named him as the first hip-hop artist to become a billionaire thanks to investments in clothing, champagne, the ride-hailing service Uber and his Roc Nation entertainment company.
Marijuana is currently legal in 11 US states including California. In Africa, marijuana is largely illegal with Lesotho and Zimbabwe the only countries that have legalised its cultivation for medicinal purposes. Recently, a court in South Africa ruled that it is legal to use marijuana in private.