Former NFL Player Joins Michigan Cannabis Industry Association Board of Directors

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]T[/dropcap]he Michigan Cannabis Industry Association (MICIA) announced that former Detroit Lion Calvin Johnson has joined its board of directors. The trade association represents nearly 200 cannabis businesses and all of the ancillary businesses that serve them. The board has 11 other members, all of whom are associated with cannabis businesses in Michigan.

“Calvin brings savvy business skills and a compelling personal story behind his launch into the cannabis industry. He will be an important ambassador for the industry and a fantastic addition to our board,” said MICIA Executive Director Robin Schneider.

Johnson was approved for pre-qualification for a license to open medical cannabis provisioning center in Michigan in February after initially being denied due to issues regarding old traffic violations. Johnson and his business partner, fellow former Detroit Lion Robert Sims, plan to open several licensed cannabis businesses under the brand name Primitive.

The two former football players recently announced a partnership with the International Phytomedicines and Medical Cannabis Institute at Harvard University to look at the benefits of treating Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated blows to the head.

“We’re actually going to be able to do clinical trials on CTE and with pain management,” Sims said. “Very quickly we went from being washed up athletes and very quickly turned to something that will really help people.”

As part of the partnership, Primitive agreed to a six-figure donation to institute. In turn, Harvard will provide medical research for Primitive, run clinical trials for CTE research and pain management, and provide quality assurance for Primitive’s products.

The two football players started a house-flipping business at the end of their football careers and decided to make the move into cannabis after working on a house in an area of Lansing known as the “green zone,” where several dispensaries had been opened.