Welcome to The Straight Dope, our new weekly series that explores the best cannabis products in Michigan.
The first time Justin Brantley smoked Death Row Cannabis weed this summer, he was transported to 1996, when he was 11 years old and riding his bike while listening to Snoop Dogg’s recently released album The Doggfather.
“I thought about the first time I saw ‘Above the Rim’ or ‘Juice’ and how important the culture was to me,” Brantley tells Metro Times. “The product provided more than a ‘high.’ It gave me a window into a much simpler time. And that’s what Death Row Records Cannabis is to me. It’s an experience!”
The attention to detail in the packaging, from the revamped Death Row Records logo to the intricate design elements like the executioner’s joint and chair diamonds, drew him in. The experience was so profound that Brantley joined Pleasantrees, a cannabis company with a large grow facility in Mt. Clemens that produces Death Row Cannabis flower.
“That encounter definitely strengthened my decision to enter the cannabis space and, more specifically, Pleasantrees,” he says. “I felt a strong connection to the brand and wanted to be part of the overall success of Death Row Records Cannabis in Michigan.”
Celebrity cannabis brands are facing enormous challenges in Michigan’s fiercely competitive market. Over the past decade, actors, athletes, and musicians have jumped into the cannabis industry with branded products and endorsements. Michigan’s market includes celebrity names like Cheech Marin, Mike Tyson, Willie Nelson, Jim Belushi, Wiz Khalifa, Icewear Vezzo, and Lil Wayne. Yet, most of these brands have struggled to rise above the crowd.
According to Seattle-based cannabis analytics provider Headset, none of the top 10 selling flower or concentrates in Michigan are linked to celebrities. Cheech and Chong, for example, rank 63rd in the flower category.
“It takes a lot to come into this market and make noise,” says Ryan Wood, creative director at Pleasantrees. “Of course it’s about good weed. What we’re discovering is it takes a lot more.”
Michigan’s cannabis industry is one of the most brutal in the country, with an overabundance of weed causing prices to plummet. Consumers are looking for value and quality, often bypassing celebrity endorsements that fail to deliver superior products. Many celebrity brands are priced higher due to the name attached to them but don’t always justify the cost.
Death Row Cannabis, however, is aiming to change that perception.
“What makes this brand a little bit different from other celebrity brands is that it doesn’t just harken back to Snoop. It harkens back to the cultural change in music,” says Sarah Waldrop, director of marketing for Pleasantrees. “With music comes that nostalgia and emotion that becomes evoked when you pair certain strains with certain feelings or songs. I’m very interested to see where we're going to be in a year after what we’ve seen in the first year.”
Death Row Cannabis launched in Michigan in August 2023 and is now available in about 60 dispensaries. Its hand-trimmed flower comes in glossy, blingy mylar bags adorned with the iconic Death Row Records electric chair. Eighths range in price from $30 to $45, depending on the dispensary. The lineup includes seven strains and packs of seven prerolls, with infused options priced at about $55.
The brand’s premium flower is curated by AK, a legendary West Coast grower handpicked by Snoop Dogg. AK’s meticulous mission to breed new, exclusive strains recently took him to the Netherlands to explore genetic libraries.
“The next 12 to 18 months is going to be really exciting as Death Row breaks into the genetics scene,” AK says. “We’re going to kick off a whole new chapter, and I’m really stoked to get this going.”
Beyond expanding its product line to include vapes and edibles, Death Row Cannabis is eyeing Detroit as the location for Snoop Dogg’s next U.S. dispensary. The first, S.W.E.D. (an acronym for “Smoke Weed Every Day”), opened in Los Angeles in July. More than just a dispensary, S.W.E.D. is an immersive celebration of Snoop’s legacy, featuring a smoke-proof DJ booth, graffiti-covered walls with his handwritten sayings, and iconic memorabilia like the Death Row Records chair.
For this review, I sampled Death Row’s strains. The standout for me was Crip’d Keeper, a tangy indica that delivered a soothing, euphoric high. Perfect for rolling a blunt and listening to the D-O-double-G, the dense buds were coated in trichomes. Crip’d Keeper is a cross between Sunset Sherbet and Mendo Breath.
Other strains in the lineup include Motor City Fuel (Wedding Crasher x Zkittlez), Jokerz #31 (White Runtz x Jet Fuel Gelato), Carbon Cake (Carbon Fire x Grape Cakes), G-Spot (White Runtz x Peanut Butter Breath), and Commissary Kush (Chem Dawg x Ghost OG).
Brantley says the reputations of Pleasantrees and Death Row Cannabis set them apart.
“Not a single gram of their weed has ever been remediated,” he says. “If we wouldn’t smoke it, we wouldn’t sell it.”
With Snoop Dogg’s star power, a focus on quality, and a commitment to evolving the brand, Death Row Cannabis is making waves in Michigan’s crowded market. As Waldrop puts it, “Death Row isn’t just a brand — it’s an experience.”
AK says his mission is to produce strains that would impress even Snoop.
“When we smoke it," AK asks, "would we be brave enough to give it to Snoop Dogg?”
If you want us to sample your cannabis products, send us an email at [email protected].
