Former NFL player Ricky Williams is returning to the state he spent a majority of his playing career in, and he is bringing his cannabis brand with him.
Through partnerships with cannabis brands Goldleaf and Ideal, Ricky Williams’ Highsman products will be available for delivery from Goldleaf locations in 16 counties in Florida and at Goldleaf’s flagship location in Sebring. The first product offering, Rick’s Picks, is set to give consumers a preview of what the brand plans to bring to the state in early 2024.
“Expanding into Florida is made possible through our retail partnership with Goldleaf and Ideal Cannabis, whose organic living soil cultivation techniques produce some of the cleanest and most flavorful flower I’ve tried,” said Williams, founder and president of Highsman. “Both partners have an evident passion for the plant, and I am so excited to bring the Highsman brand to Florida, a state that I have a deep rich history with.”
Williams launched the Highsman brand in 2021, the name play on the award he won in 1998. The brand features products, both cannabis and non-cannabis, curated by Williams. Williams was suspended multiple times for positive cannabis drug tests during his career but he remained a strong advocate for medical cannabis, claiming it helped deal with the physical and mental stress caused by being a professional athlete.
“Years in the making, Highsman rethinks the relationship between sports and cannabis,” said Eric Hammond, CEO of Highsman. “We believe Highsman will resonate with a broad and inclusive audience and are excited to introduce such a game-changing brand. Highsman is the continuation of a journey Ricky started in the NFL and will break boundaries between the world of sports and cannabis.”
The Highsman brand launched in Arizona in the beginning of 2023 through a partnership with Trulieve, bringing the products to all Trulieve and Harvest branded dispensaries in the state. Highsman partnered with Abundant Organics to supply premium organically grown cannabis to Trulieve and Harvest for the line of pre-rolls and eighths personally curated by Williams.
“Trulieve is excited to launch this limited-time exclusive partnership with legendary NFL player Ricky Williams in Arizona, just weeks before the Super Bowl will be hosted in the state,” said Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve. “Ricky was well-known for his belief in the power of cannabis during his playing days, and the Highsman brand reflects his values and passion for cannabis. We are proud to launch Highsman products in the Arizona market.”
Williams recently told TMZ Sports he was happy to see the progress the NFL has made with their cannabis policy but would like to see the NFL allow cannabis use for treatment postgame to aid with recovery.
“I think the next step, though, is at the end of a game, if we’re on the plane ride home, the trainer is walking down the aisle and has two capsule cases — one of Ambien, and the other one of Vicodin,” said Williams. “And the truth is, for football players, we do need something because it hurts, and you’re all revved up and it’s hard to calm down and go to sleep. And I’d love to see cannabis as being one of those things that the trainer is walking down the aisle and offering to those players.”
The NFL changed its drug policy under its new collective bargaining agreement in 2020 to remove suspensions as punishment for testing positive for cannabis use. The league also limited the testing window to the first two weeks of training camp and raised the threshold for a positive test from 35 nanograms of THC to 150. In 2022, the NFL awarded $1 million in research funding to two teams of medical researchers at the University of California San Diego and University of Regina to investigate the effects of cannabinoids on pain management and neuroprotection of players.
