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These days cannabis is right up there with wine, spirits, and gourmet cuisine. And luxury goods giants are sniffing around zol for a cut of the market.

With an estimated market value of $33 Billion dollars, the reefer is beating out the luxury watch industry in sheer volumes sold, and with the industry only beginning to flourish in the few places where marijuana legislation is sympathetic, the allure of creating ‘exclusive products’ is just too much.

Luxury brands love to convince people that their offering would set them apart. Their promises are luxurious, sophisticated, and exclusive. Not to mention exotic and daring.

None of these terms really ring true to Mary Jane, and despite the prominence of Snoop Dog and Seth Rogan’s weed ventures, it’s pretty hard to make expensive weed sexy and exclusive when your buddy grows awesome weed in a tent in his spare room.

Cannabis has seen a rise in opportunists taking investor cash, developing a flashy brand, and not being able to keep up with consumer demands or standards.

Perhaps companies like Louis Vuitton can convince people that their newly launched R43 000 yoga matt will have you licking your own back in no time, but weed belongs to the people, so trying to make it sophisticated and exclusive is the equivalent of selling polished dirt.

In order to cash into the stoner market, luxury brands will have to find suppliers that can meet their demands, and unfortunately for all involved, the quality of weed is often lost in mass production. Oh, it’ll get you plenty high, but your flatmate’s carefully cultivated crop of Durban Poison will probably out-smoke anything Gucci can come up with.

Exotic and top-shelf are the most used terms to describe premium cannabis. A common misconception is that these are tiers of quality, which isn’t necessarily the case.

Just like your Metallica T-shirt from TopShop, weed has become a mainstream commodity after being shunned as ‘something losers do’. Back then the metalheads and stoners were ridiculed, today Woolies sells metal t-shirts and your grandma is using CBD and THC spray to soothe her non-existent arthritis.

Somebody is making a lot of money. And the big brands want in.

“Nobody was calling weed ‘exotic’ until we brought the branding up to par with the product. 10 years ago, it was just plastic containers and your uncle’s camera case stuffed with weed and stickers.”

These days you don’t just buy a watch, you buy the Brad Pitt-inspired Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 legacy. The same is happening with weed strains where people are putting a value on so-called legacy strains like Silver Haze, Maui Wowi, and Acapulco Gold.

A lot of these strains are so intermingled from cross-breeding that it’s difficult to reproduce the same quality year after year in large quantities.

Many brands will market existing strains under new names as an attempt to reinvigorate interest. Now that cannabis has a legal, regulated market, legacy strains grown in top-shelf environments are becoming more sought-after.

First, the hipster claimed the craft beer market, then the celebs came for the metal look. Will we see Cartier selling overpriced ‘premium’ pre-rolled joints at an ‘exotic’ price next? Probably and why not?

We’re just not convinced their bud would be as dank as Dave’s.

[source:highsnobiety]