Nigerian singer Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, professionally known as Burna Boy, has launched a marijuana brand in the United States.
The Grammy-winning music star unveiled the brand, named ‘BrkFst’, in partnership with Jokes Up Ice Kream, a weed dispensary and shipping company, on October 7 in Miami, Florida.
Marijuana is illegal in the US, even as individual states move towards legal use for recreation and medicine.
Burna Boy’s brand appears to derived its name from Last Last, a chart-topping hit single off his Love, Damini album which described heartbreak as ‘Breakfast’.
The launch coincided with the Miami Carnival, an event that had the team representing Burna Boy headlining the all-white-themed Tipsy Musical Festival at Bayfront Park.
It is understood that fans in attendance got a first look at the ‘BrkFst’ merchandise and were treated to Burna Boy’s music.
The launch comes as Nigeria debates the idea of legalising cannabis for business and medicine.
The House of Representatives, in early 2021, began to consolidate Nigeria’s stance after it initiated legalisation moves.
But Buba Marwa, the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), argued in October 2021 that cannabis could not be legalised in Nigeria because of its level of abuse.
He said,“We have seen narco-terrorism in countries like Colombia and Mexico, where drug cartels are a law unto themselves and are as powerful, if not more powerful than the state.
“So, there are real cases, not scenarios, of where and how illicit substances played a role in a society’s rapid descent into chaos and tethering on the brink of a failed state.”
“Have drugs played any role in the festering insecurity in Nigeria? The answer is yes. We have ample evidence. We do not have the luxury of allowing a narcotic economy to take root and thrive in our society.”
In late 2021, Burna Boy countered that not legalising marijuana in Nigeria is hypocritical, adding that “everyone smokes.”
Joe Biden, the US President, on October 6, pardoned all federal offenders convicted of “simple possession” of marijuana.
“As President, I will decriminalise cannabis use and automatically expunge prior convictions,” he had promised.
