Al Harrington was smiling less than 24 hours following a successful heart surgery in Indiana. He sat with me to begin a candid discussion. You can tell how tough, determined and resilient this athlete is by the fact that he always shows up for work. He did shine.
Harrington, who was born and raised in New Jersey in 1978, became the 25th pick overall in the NBA Draft in 1998 after being named a McDonald’s High School All-American. Harrington, who never played college basketball, spent six seasons in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, then played for the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors before spending the next decade with New York Knicks Denver Nuggets Orlando Magic Washington Wizards. In all, Harrington played in 16 seasons in the NBA—that’s quite an impressive run to be sure.
Harrington’s decision to apply the discipline he learned from playing football in his first venture Viola Brands – which is now the biggest Black-owned cannabis company producing products since 2011 – was not a surprise. Currently available in nine states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania—Viola’s mission, according to Harrington, is to “increase equity and ensure Black and brown people are afforded the opportunity to be a part of a fast-growing industry that has historically left them disenfranchised.”
Viola Brands latest moves include his collaborations with Allen Iverson and other former NBA stars, by working together to distribute popular strains Iverson 01 and 96. Viola Brands’ latest announcement is perhaps the most exciting: they announced that, once again, they will be partnering with Iverson and Horticulture Co. to launch IVERSON – a new line of Allen Iverson branded hemp THC-derived beverages. Circle K will be the exclusive retailer in the US for the national launch of Allen Iverson-branded hemp-derived THC beverages called IVERSON.
It’s a big deal.
With this energy and knowledge, we began our interview with Al Harrington. He is a tough, as nails ambassador of all things marijuana. He has a lot of heart. You already knew this, didn’t?
Let’s go back to when you were a McDonald’s High School All Star pick—you must’ve been pursued by every top college team—what went into the decision to go straight into the NBA draft?
Yeah, man. When I was younger, I used to be the most unsteady kid in my class. No one ever picked me to play sports. At the end of my eighth-grade year, I was diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatters, which is basically a huge growth spurt—I grew from 5’10” to 6’4″ in one summer. The JV coach put me in the team, even though I hadn’t tried out. I was the weakest player on my team. I was the worst player on my team. I could not catch. The next summer I met a guy named Sandy Pyonin who was my AAU Coach. Everything changed. I learned how to dribble and shoot basketballs, as well as how to run. Everything. By my junior year I had switched high schools, and everything started to come together. In my senior year I attended the Nike All-American Camp, where I was named MVP, ranking me among the top 10 in the nation. My coach told me that if I became No.1, I wanted to be a professional. He said, “I’m not sure about that.”
Sounds like you should have spent a couple years in college prior to going pro.
What do you know, I could probably have done it. It’s something my AAU coach says all the time. But I mean, shit, I played 16 years—so let’s not get it twisted. [Laughs] Never once did I think I wasn’t welcome in the league. Never did I think that the players I played with or my teammates were better than I was or that I would have been better off going to college. Do you know what I am saying?
Let’s talk about New York City—I remember you with the Knicks, and all of a sudden, everything clicked for you. You got more points. Madison Square Garden is different than other places.
It was because I didn’t want to be booed that I achieved success in New York. [Laughs] New York City is a booing city. They’ll call you out in under a minute. In New York, I would always play my best game because I did not want to get booed. It’s true that I was never booed in the two years I played there.
What is the name of Viola?
My grandmother is named Viola. Right around the time I started playing for the Denver Nuggets, cannabis was just making its way onto the medical scene and I was reading about it every day in the newspapers—I’m a big newspaper reader—and at the end of that year, my grandmother came to see me play. When she got there, she was taking all this medication for high blood pressure, diabetes, glaucoma…I told her I’d just read that cannabis can cure glaucoma. She said to me, “Reefer?! You’re trying to make me smoke marijuana? You outta your mind!” She laughed. Next day she complained about the pain in her eyes. “Grandma,” I replied, “you’re now in a legally-regulated market.” You’re not alone. Doctors have recommended cannabis to treat similar conditions. Why don’t try it? They recommended Vietnam Kush when I called the dispensary. We purchased this Volcano Bag System, and had her try it outside. When I asked how she felt, her response was “I’m feeling great!” She was sobbing and told me, “I have been healed!” It’s been more than 3 1/2 years since I was able to see the words of my Bible. She tells my mother that God has given her her sight back. “Everything’s so brilliant.” That’s what inspired me to just start learning more about cannabis, weed, reefer—whatever you want to call it—because of the medicinal benefit—the Miracles It was for my grandmother.
Was she alive long enough for her to join the company?
Yep, she did. She died 2021. So she lived 91 years. At the time I founded the company, my mother attended the launch. After we finished dinner, she said, “Al. That was a big group of people. My name was all over the place.” She was like “What if something goes wrong? Will I end up in jail?” [Laughs]
Viola has a genuine commitment to entrepreneurs of colour.
It’s been my focus ever since I entered the industry. The industry can be difficult and not set up to allow us to achieve success, particularly when we have limited resources. It’s no wonder that after COVID the industry has been in such a mess because many people have lost their money by betting on big players who didn’t perform. But you know, at the end of the day, it’s like sports—you come into a game with a game plan to stop Steph Curry, and if it don’t work, you got to readjust the plan. We’ve shifted our focus to adult beverages. This allows us to remain relevant in an industry that is constantly evolving.
You wrote an article several years ago stating that there is still a marijuana war. Do you think that’s still in place, particularly given the recent—and shocking— federal ban on hemp Trump signed into law?
You see this all the time. It’s obvious that it doesn’t make any sense. It’s as if the ban on cannabis has already left the station. That’s the way the world is, particularly in the US. Like the fact that there’s still Red Dye 40 in damn near everything we eat—it’s so funny the things they choose to care about when there’s other things that are You can also find out more about the following:, really Even children are affected by the effects of cannabis. This is a strange and confusing time, with the ongoing war on marijuana. [US Senator] Mitch McConnell putting that into a budget is criminal. What’s stopping a budget to deal with a hemp prohibition?
Trump, we all know, is not going to read the fine print.
I mean, even if he did, he’s not going to stop it—people have been out of work for more than 40 days, right? The fact that he can’t just say “I don’t want hemp to be in there” or go back-and-forth is not going to change anything. But there’s always gonna be hurdles along the way, ’cause we’re going through prohibition, and we’ll find a way to come out good on the other side, it’s just gonna take us more time and money—and energy that a lot of people don’t seem to have anymore, because we kinda tired and beat up from getting to where are today. We’ve done so much that it would be foolish to stop.
You said post-COVID’s been wonky for the cannabis industry and capital’s sort of dried up—what I’ve seen is a lot of consolidations and collaborations. I have seen some of your work recently with Allen Iverson. Ricky Williams is the last person I saw you with. What has been your collaboration and what is the future of Viola?
After 16 years as an NBA athlete, I realize that Reggie Miller won’t be able to win games if we don’t work together. That’s how I look at it. For me, being able to join forces with people that are like-minded and come from sports is important—I know that athletes don’t quit. We are very intentional about what we do.
Is Iverson’s collaboration with beverage companies limited to the beverages?
In 2021 we began a collaboration with Allen Iverson and started off with flower. From flower, it moved on to edibles, pre-rolls and vapes. We started making these drinks about two years back, in collaboration with Tempters. Our two-year partnership with Tempters is coming to an end. We launched IVERSON last month and got a nationwide mandate from Circle K.
Huge news. This is a huge win.
You’re welcome, brother. Man, that was so quick. God was always by my side. The fact that Circle K allowed us access to the fourth quarter, which had already been completed six months earlier, when we first met them was an important play. There are five brands of all our beverages. Spec’s, which is the biggest grossing THC beverage liquor store chain in the country, based in Texas, we just launched in there last week, and we’re just growing it from there—Goody Goody, Total Wine, Gopuff, we’re working on more. This bill is a major setback, but it’s still the same business. It’s a good thing we have a whole year to do something about it. These products are so useful and help so many people.
Many celebrity brands have entered the market and failed. Viola’s popularity is it partly because you love the plant, and that’s a big part of who you are? Which strains and forms of consumption do you like?
It’s a no-brainer for me. I love how OGs feel. It relaxes and gives me a body high. My heart races and it gets me in my head. I don’t smoke a lot of sativa. Skittles is my favorite OG strain for its flavor and high. We’ve done a number of different cuts using Skittles. Lemon Cherry Gelato was a big hit; we do a lot with it. Blue Nerds is a popular cross. A hybrid is my preference, as I dislike being so high that I cannot do anything. What I am looking for is more practical, yes? And that’s what we brought to the beverages—I drink beverages every single day and I smoke more socially. All our beverages have clean ingredients—low sugar, low calorie. Staying true to health and wellness is our core. Because I was determined to maintain quality, I literally have lost millions. Bottom line? This brand is named after my grandmother. It’s only fair that Grandma Viola smoke it. To your question, I believe we are still respected and here after so many years because of that.
It’s true, no one will boo you either in the marijuana space.
No doubt. It’s still there. [Laughs]
In five years, where will you be?
Man, I really hope we are still playing this game in five years. We’ll probably have the most innovative spirits and perhaps even return to edibles in five years. Through Circle K, 7-Eleven, and Target, I believe we will be a leading brand in convenience. When I first started, I would never have imagined that one day I’d be in a shop with Doritos or Pepsi. [Laughs] We’re still going to keep on moving forward. We will keep on trying to smash all of those barriers.