Carmelo Anthony's Cannabis Mission Comes Home: ‘I Know The Door I Hold Open'

Forbes

24-04-2025

Carmelo Anthony
New York gave Carmelo Anthony a stage. Now he's returning with something different, something built for the long game. No jersey. No buzzer. This time, it's cannabis.
After launching in Oregon last year, Anthony's cannabis brand STAYME7O—pronounced 'Stay Melo'—has arrived in New York dispensaries. The product is premium flower. The team includes Oregon grower and equity advocate Jesce Horton and creative director Brandon Drew Jordan Pierce. The mission: deeper.
'This isn't just about cannabis: it's about empowering our communities, uplifting underserved entrepreneurs and creating meaningful opportunities that support and celebrate our culture,' says Anthony in an exclusive interview.
Born in Brooklyn, raised in Baltimore, defined under the lights at Madison Square Garden, Anthony's comeback isn't measured in minutes played, but in how much space he can open for others.
Anthony's relationship with cannabis isn't performative. It didn't start with a business pitch. It started with questions.
'What attracted me to the space is the actual awareness and understanding of the benefits of what we're dealing with, what we're consuming, what we're putting into our bodies—brain functioning, all of the above. That's what drew me in. I asked myself: how can I be creative within that industry? How can I use what I've learned and been through—my past experiences as an athlete—and bring that to cannabis?,' he says. 'Really taking a deep dive into the actual science… how it can give me some type of edge, whether it's sleeping better, recovery, clarity.'
As an elite athlete, he approached cannabis the way he approached training: methodically. 'Whether that's understanding the science of how athletes sleep, how people keep their day going… we've orchestrated this to give people multi-tiers to understand what they're part of,' he says.
The product worked. Then came the business.
'It's a major, major industry. And why not step into that with good intentions?'
STAYME7O isn't a licensing deal. It's Carmelo's actual weed—and the name isn't branding, it's biography.
'We're creating a premium cannabis brand,' he says. 'This is not just doing something and stamping my name. We're very thoughtful. There's mindfulness. We deal with quality and community. It's really a reflection of who I am—my mindset, my philosophy.'
STAYME7O is about calm in chaos. It's about patience, clarity and real use. Anthony consumes the products himself—for sleep, for recovery, for focus.
The cultivation comes from LOWD, Horton's Oregon-based grow. He and Anthony selected and bred most of the strains together.
'First off, it's what Melo actually smokes—and I do too. It's authentic,' says Horton.
And it's designed for connection, not just consumption.
'I understood growing up the sense of community that cannabis has,' says Anthony. 'It opens doors. It was a must for me to step into that industry with great intent.'
'Stay Melo is really a mindset at the end of the day.'
Anthony didn't grow up in a regulated market. He grew up in La Farmacia, West Baltimore.
'I was always a product of my environment,' he says. 'That industry has always been frowned upon and looked at in a negative way.'
The war on drugs wasn't a political idea—it was a lived reality. Friends were arrested. Some are still incarcerated.
'You saw people fighting for their freedom when it came to that,' he says. 'You saw how it was perceived, how it was thought about, how it was frowned upon.'
As an Afro-Latino (Black and Puerto Rican) Anthony watched two communities bear the brunt of cannabis criminalization.
'For me, being able to stand in the middle as an Afro-Latino... I'm creating these opportunities for all sides.'
And the numbers back him up. According to the ACLU, Black Americans are 3.64 times more likely than white Americans to be arrested for marijuana possession, despite similar usage rates. In New York City, 94% of marijuana-related arrests in 2020 involved Black and Latino residents.
'That's one of my north stars, to be honest,' Anthony says about taking his brand to Puerto Rico. 'Bringing it to the island is definitely on the radar.'
'It was the feel I got when I met Jesce,' says Anthony. 'Hearing him talk, seeing how brilliant of a mind he is... I respected how he grows cannabis, his operations, thought process, science. Seeing him struggle every day to get his goals off the ground—I wanted to be part of that.'
Horton isn't just a grower. He's an engineer, policy advocate and founder of the Minority Cannabis Business Association. He built LOWD from the ground up.
'Melo's commitment to doing this the right way... made it personal,' Horton says.
Jesce Horton
Together with creative director Brandon Drew Jordan Pierce (aka Beedy), they formed Grand National, a creative agency and brand builder focused on equity, narrative and scale.
'Let's create a business. Let's create an agency. Let's give people opportunities,' Anthony says.
'If I'm putting my brand on something, that means I'm showing up,' Anthony says. 'I'm not sending anybody else.'
Grand National isn't built to chase hype. It partners with equity-owned dispensaries, funds operators aligned with its mission and supports nonprofits like NuProject and the Last Prisoner Project.
'We're intentional about who we work with—throughout the entire product lifecycle,' says Horton.
'I have to be boots on the ground, front and center, when it comes to building this community,' adds Anthony.
Grand National also works with brands like Ben's Best Blnz (founded by Ben & Jerry's Ben Cohen) and Green Bodhi, aiming to bridge gaps in access, resources and visibility.
'We're building bridges between existing operators and brands, rooted in quality, culture and connection,' says Horton.
'This is home,' says Anthony. 'It's where I played. It's where my blood, sweat and tears were put out.'
New York's cannabis market surpassed $1 billion in sales in 2024 and is projected to hit $3.22 billion by 2030. The number of licensed dispensaries is expected to more than double by 2025. The state has pledged that 50% of those licenses will go to equity applicants.
'They allowed a lot of people to get licenses,' Anthony says. 'But it's still a process—and a lot of people get left out, especially in Black and brown communities.'
'As an Afro-Latino, I know the door I hold open when it comes to social equity in this industry.'
'I didn't want to just create a product with my name on it,' says Anthony. 'I wanted something of substance.'
Brandon Drew Jordan Pierce
That substance is strategy. Grand National draws on Anthony's past brand experience with Nike and Jordan to elevate cannabis storytelling. It's not just about selling; it's about building.
'We're talking about Jordan Brand campaigns, Nike creatives. Thought-provoking stories. Elevated content. Couture cannabis.'
Now that New York is live, Anthony's eye is on expansion—Puerto Rico, more states, more partnerships—and mentorship for young athletes and entrepreneurs entering the space.
'That's why I wanted to be in this position: so I can answer those calls and open those doors... provide information, if not opportunities.'
Asked who he'd most want to smoke with, dead or alive, Anthony doesn't blink.
'Bob Marley. Absolutely,' he says. 'He has that similar temperament when it comes to understanding what cannabis is really about. It's not a sport. This is a plant we're dealing with. To be able to tap into those conversations, ideologies, philosophies, music—that's the whole vibe of Stay Melo.'
'There's a lot of attention and detail in what we're doing,' he adds. 'I want people to understand that—and join the community.'
Anthony isn't the first to enter the space. He joins a growing group of former NBA players building cannabis brands:
But what Anthony's building isn't just a brand. It's a blueprint.
In a market full of noise, Carmelo Anthony isn't chasing volume. He's building value.
And that might be the most Melo move of all.