

Top 40 Most Influential Athletes in the Cannabis Industry
Joe Montana

Montana is part of a $75 million investment in the cannabis brand Caliva. Montana’s involvement was through his venture capital firm, but he said he was investing in an industry he thinks “can provide relief to many people and can make a serious impact on opioid use or addiction.”
Hall of Fame, Super Bowl Champion
By Reginald Grant, MS Ed. , October 22, 2020
Paul Pierce

Paul Pierce launched his own CBD line called ‘The Truth’Pierce’s “The Truth” line and aforementioned vaporizer, Vesper, will be sold exclusively on Eaze Wellness, an online CBD marketplace that ships to customers over 21 years old in 42 states and Washington, D.C.
Hall of Fame, NBA Champion
Liz Carmouche

She’s currently partnered with the hemp oil company, HempMeds. she is also a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and the first openly gay female to compete inside the famous cage. She uses CBD to heal faster and to train harder.
Carmouche, aka the “Girl-illa” MMA
Al Harrington

The Indianapolis Star called Al Harrington a “marijuana tycoon.” Why? Well because of his Viola brand, a vertically integrated cannabis company named after Harrington’s grandma. According to the Star, Harrington is about to raise funding for a $100 million valuation.
Retired 16 year NBA player
Dr. Julie Anthony

Dr. Julie Anthony is a ITA Hall of Famer. She played for Stanford, and helped establish World Team Tennis in 1974. She earned a doctorate in clinical psychology.Anthony nows works as a sports psychologist. She is a member of Athletes for Care and is an advocate for cannabis.
Tennis Hall of Fame
Mike Tyson

Retired Heavyweight boxing Champion
Elias Theodorou

Canadian MMA fighter
Elias Michael Theodorou is a Canadian mixed martial artist of Greek descent. He competed for the UFC in the Middleweight division and won The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia. The Canadian "Cannabis Act," prohibits athletes from being sponsored by cannabis companies. He is an outspoken advocate for medical marajuana and recreational legalization in Canada.
Rico Lamitte

Former NCAA athlete
TEDx Speaker. Emcee. Host. Consultant. Advocate. Activist. Leader. Trendsetter. Always me. High Times named him one of the 100 most influential in the Cannabis Industry. Co-Founder and Market Leader of CannaGather Orange County, OC's Cannabis Community. Each month we meet on the third Wednesday with the best of the best our industry has to offer to educate, network, and thrive in the greatest industry on Earth. Founder and CEO of Los Angeles' Greatest Monthly Networking Community.
Ricky Williams

The athlete perhaps most associated with cannabis finally turned his advocacy into business action. Last year, Ricky Williams founded Real Wellness brand, a line of products that infuses cannabis with holistic and Eastern medicinal practices.
Retired 12 year NFL veteran
Rob Gronkowski

NFL player, 3x Super Bowl Champion
Gronkowksi announced that the next phase of his post-NFL career will include a partnership with CBD products company CBDMedic to create a line of topical pain treatments using the cannabis-derived compound. Gronkowski said in a press conference that his father first introduced him to a CBDMedic topical cream for use as a pain reliever (his father uses it for back pain),
Kyle Turley

The former pro football player spent eight years as an offensive lineman and helped found Neuro XPF, a hemp-derived cannabis supplement. Turley stated that Cannabis saved his life; Turley continues to raise awareness about the medicinal value of cannabis .
Retired NFL player
Nora Beck

Sponsored by Tokyo Starfish, she sends the company videos and photos throughout the winter. She also wears their T-shirts and hoodies and markets them to snowboarding fans on her social media. The owners of the Oregon-based dispensary Tokyo Starfish all previously worked in the snowboarding industry before they transitioned into opening a dispensary.
Professional snowboarder
Megan Rapinoe & Sue Bird

Olympic Soccer star & WNBA star
Mendi, a CBD startup company, has “athlete ambassadors” who help promote their products, including soccer player and Women’s World Cup winner Megan Rapinoe, and her girlfriend, WNBA player Sue Bird. The athlete ambassadors receive Mendi products to promote on their social channels and attend Mendi events. The company was founded by Rapinoe’s twin sister, Rachael, who is also a former pro soccer player. Although CBD is banned in the WNBA, Bird uses it in her off-season.
John Salley

In 2019, along with his daughter Tyla, Salley launched Deuces 22, a cannabis brand that focuses on selling high-quality cannabis while focusing on health and wellness. Tyla, is the CEO and president.
16 year NBA & 3 time NBA Champion
Eric Rice

Eric is CEO of Quanta, an applied science company, focused on enhancing energy levels in plant matter, including hemp and cannabis, to increase performance within the human body.
Retired professional baseball player
Eugene Moore

Advocate for cannabis, In March 2016, Monroe became the first active National Football League (NFL) player to openly advocate for cannabis use to treat sports-related injury and chronic pain. http://eugenemonroe.com/
Retired NFL player
Floyd Landis

He founded Floyd’s of Leadville, a company that produces CBD products intended to ease pain and inflammation. “For years I relied on opioid pain relievers to treat my hip pain. With cannabis, I find that I can manage my pain and have a better quality of life. We need to give people a safer alternative.”
Retired cyclist & Tour deFrance Champion
Katina Morales

Katina Morales is the owner and creator of Betty Khronic, a line of vegan energy bars. She now helps other athletes incorporate cannabis into their healthy lifestyle through her line of infused energy bars.
Former distance runner
Greta Gaines

She became the first female champion snowboarder, and the only woman to compete in the World Extreme Snowboarding Championship in 1992. Gaines founded The Hempery, a hemp-based skincare line. She is also an active member of Women Grow.
Singer and former fly-flisher, and extreme snowboarder.
Cliff Robinson

He is also the founder of Uncle Spliffy, and he is a member of the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana in Connecticut. Robinson is dedicated to raising awareness of the racial injustice and disparities created by the War on Drugs. He regularly lobbies in favor of cannabis legalization.
Retired NBA all-star, 16 year vetran
Avery Collins

Collins is sponsored by The Farm Marijuana Dispensary. Collins is the only endurance runner that’s sponsored by a cannabis company. He runs in competitions that range from 50-200 miles per day.
Ultramarathoner
Nate Jackson

He co-hosts the “Caveman Poet Society Podcast” (formally the “Mindful Warrior Podcast”). He’s a member of Athletes for CARE, Jackson is outspoken about the benefits of cannabis for athletes, and for veterans.
Retired NFL player, a 7 year vetran
Calvin Johnson & Rob Sims, Jr.

Former wide receiver Calvin Johnson and former guard Rob Sims Jr. expand their brand Primitive in to multipal locations.
Retired NFL players "Megatron" and Rob Sims, Jr.
Amy Van Dyken

A six-time Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer
Riley Cote

Retired pro NHL hockey player and coach.
Known as the “enforcer, he spent eight years in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a left-winger. After his retirement in 2010, Cote founded the HempHeals Foundation and co-founded Athletes for CARE. He discovered the therapeutic benefits of cannabis at an early age from his sister, who used it to treat symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS).
Ross Rebagliati

Retired Canadian snowboarder & Olympian
Flavie Dokken

She is sponsored by Wana Brands, a cannabis company that produces cannabis-infused products, like Wana Recreational Tarts.
Colorado based ultramarathoner
Frank Shamrock

Shamrock co-hosted The BakeOut Show, a talk show aimed to educate the mainstream audience about cannabis. He’s a member of Athletes for Care and regularly speaks at events including the World Medical Cannabis Conference and Expo.
Retired MMA fighter, and undefeated UFC Middleweight champion.
Brian Kaho

Personal Trainer, Social Media Influecer
Ron Brown

Retired NFL and Gold Metal Olympian
Mr. Brown is an entrepreneur who specializes in business development and is an active member of many charitable organizations. His role at Vivera will include developing new business opportunities and building strategic relationships. Vivera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company focused on non-addictive pain management, Mr. Ron Brown is on its Advisory Board. He is also a board member of The Cannabis Consumer Policy Council (CCPC) is a coalition of cannabis advocates, dedicated to empowering and protecting all cannabis consumers from discriminatory laws and policies.
Tiki Barber

Retired NFL all-pro
Barber is open about his cannabis use: he loves weed. Nonetheless, he is not your traditional consumer. “I do not smoke,” he disclosed.
Andrew Talansky

Former elite cyclist and current triathlete
Jim McAlpine

Athlete & Entrepreneur
Jim has founded a series of sports companies and events, including Snowbomb.com, and Snowbomb Ski and Snowboard Festivals. In 2014, he founded the 420 Games, a nationwide athletic competition for cannabis enthusiasts. McAlpine is also the founder of the New West Summit and co-founded Power Plant Fitness, a cannabis-friendly gym.
Marvin Washington

Retired NFL player (11 seasons)
Washington is an advocate for the medical use of cannabis, as well as an entrepreneur in the cannabis industry. In 2017 Washington was part of a lawsuit filed against Attorney General Jeff Sessions, seeking to overturn the classification of cannabis as a Schedule I drug. Washington is a board member of Athletes for Care, a group that advocates for athletes on various issues of health and safety including the use of cannabis as medicine
Eben Britton

Retired NFL player (6 seasons)
Britton co-founded Athletes for Care alongside Nate Jackson. The non-profit organization supports research and education and encourages athletes of all levels to use their platform to improve global health. He also hosts the “Caveman Poet Society” podcast, and is the founder Be Tru Organics. The former NFL player leads the growing list of players who advocated cannabis’ removal from the league’s list of banned substances. Washington, is vice president of business development at the CBD company Isodiol International Inc. (OTCQB: ISOLF)
Isiah Thomas

Retired NBA Champion & NBA Coach
The NBA legend is the vice chairman and CEO of One WorldPharma Inc. (OTCQB: OWPC). "All industries — with the way we’re focused on climate change — everyone is looking to reduce their carbon footprint," he said. Hemp is a sustainable material that can be used to replace plastics and other environmentally unfriendly materials, Thomas told the Cannabis Capital Conference. “Sitting on 1 million acres of hemp and being able to supply and meet the demands of the auto industry, the construction industry ... the only way we’re going to be able to cleanse the environment and reduce our carbon footprint is through hemp.”