How a California pot company went from $575 million in cash to a 'debt death spiral'

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CANNABIS
How a California pot company went from $575 million in cash to a 'debt death spiral'

After flashy launch, Jay Z's pot brand can't be found on California shelves


Jay-Z launched his new cannabis brand in California by joining a buzzy pot startup, but he's since left that company and his products can't be found in the state.
Images via Getty/Illustration by SFGATE

By Lester Black,
Cannabis editor
Dec 2, 2024

Jay-Z’s cannabis brand looked timeless as soon as it launched in 2020. The billionaire rapper, legal name Shawn Carter, rolled out his Monogram line of luxury joints and cannabis flower with a photo shoot at the famous Frank Sinatra house in Palm Springs. Models elegantly smoked joints in front of mid-century pool furniture, as if the brand had been around for decades. Glowing profiles in GQ, Vogue and Vanity Fair soon followed.

Four years later, it looks like this splashy celebrity cannabis brand has already disappeared.

Monogram’s website lists nine retailers where it says its products are for sale — eight in California and one in Arizona — but none include the brand’s products on their online menus. The parent company behind Monogram, confusingly called The Parent Company, hasn’t fared any better. The conglomerate originally hit California’s market with $575 million in cash and plans to take over the entire industry, but after burning through half a billion dollars, it has merged into another company, which itself appears to be in financial trouble.

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