This Legendary Kingpin And Former Cannabis Prisoner Has Launched His Own Weed Brand

A group of former cannabis smugglers known as the Gentlemen Smugglers has launched a legal cannabis brand of their own. Through a partnership with Root & Bloom out of Salisbury, MA, the new brand, aptly named Gentlemen Smugglers, offers a range of premium flower products, including 1g joints, mini pre-roll 5-packs and whole flower eighths.

Gentlemen Smugglers will also be partnering with the Last Prisoner Project, with part of the proceeds going to help nonviolent cannabis prisoners.

The Backstory

In the 1970s and mid-1980s, a group of young men from South Carolina, known as the Gentlemen Smugglers used to "own" the East Coast cannabis trade, from Miami to Massachusetts, having smuggled over 250 tons of cannabis from Colombia, Jamaica and Lebanon. Their leader, the legendary kingpin Barry “Flash” Foy, was the subject of Operation Jackpot, largely considered to be the sting that launched the War On Drugs under President Reagan.

Foy served 12 years in federal prison after getting caught. Most of the others were charged under the smuggling statute and, like Barry, they paid the price.

What’s more, the thrilling story of the Gentlemen Smugglers is memorialized in Jason Ryan’s Wall Street Journal bestseller, Jackpot: High Times, High Seas, And The Sting That Launched The War On Drugs.

The Gentlemen Smugglers are older and wiser now, and ready to do business again, using their platform to make a difference. This is why they launched their own brand, founded on the legacy of a bygone era. In an industry filled with ruthless people and dangerous places, they made their own rules, and they thrived...and they intend to do so again.