By Des Bieler, washingtonpost.com
Mike Tyson is on the verge of becoming a heavyweight in California’s burgeoning marijuana industry. The former boxer and some business partners have broken ground on a 40-acre ranch in the state that they envision as a destination for growers and consumers of newly legal weed.
California, which had allowed licensed medical marijuana use, legalized recreational pot on Jan. 1, and Tyson is looking to capitalize in a big way. The Blast reported Monday that the 51-year-old former heavyweight champion broke ground last month on a “cannabis resort” to be located in California City, a town in the Mojave Desert about a 110-mile drive north from Los Angeles.
The location is also a much shorter drive north from Edwards Air Force Base, and according to The Blast, “taking care of men and women who have served in the armed forces is a top priority” for Tyson Holistic, the company that will operate the resort, to be called Tyson Ranch. The Blast noted that cannabidiol (CBD), a marijuana extract that does not provide the “high” famously associated with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has been used by some veterans to treat cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, and it is touted by advocates as having other therapeutic properties, as well.
