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Boxing champ Mike Tyson’s cannabis brand just opened its first branded coffeeshop in Amsterdam last week.
The company’s new Coffeeshop TYSON 2.0, located within walking distance of Central Station and several popular hotels, will sell select branded products by the company and its partners. The 1,200-square-foot cafe features a lounge “where guests can experience the TYSON 2.0 brand and product offerings” and a glass bar designed by Stündenglass, a California company that makes glass gravity infusers.
Tyson has been hitting the cannabis space hard since retiring from his career as a heavyweight champ. The boxer, who became notorious for biting off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear and beating up passengers on planes, has since become a staunch advocate of cannabis and psychedelic medicine. In addition to launching his own global cannabis brand, TYSON 2.0, the entrepreneur has also opened a 420-acre ranch in California and is working to open a cannabis resort in the Caribbean.
“It is a dream come true to open our first coffeeshop in Amsterdam,” said Tyson in a press release. “The Coffeeshop TYSON 2.0 will immerse fans in a full on experience where they can enjoy my favorite TYSON 2.0 products the way I do. I’ve tried and tested all of them, and I can’t wait to share some of my most beloved and undefeated goods with Europe.”
The press release doesn’t mention exactly what products the new coffeeshop will sell, though. Cannabis is technically still illegal in Holland, although Amsterdam and a few other cities do allow people to smoke up in specific licensed cafes. But because recreational cannabis cultivation is prohibited, these shops can only sell black market weed. The Netherlands recently launched a pilot program that will supply some cafes with legal bud, but only for smaller cities in the southern part of the country.
TYSON 2.0 sells a variety of flower and edible products, including the witty ear-shaped “Mike Bites,” in legal dispensaries throughout Canada and the US. There is no indication that Tyson has secured the right to sell legal weed in Holland, so the new coffeeshop will likely focus on merch and smoking accessories. The company has said that it will sell vapes, glassware, and other paraphernalia by Futurola, Gpen and Stündenglass, and the boxer’s brand will surely offer its hoodies, shirts, and other branded merch as well.
Focusing on merch and accessories is probably the best move anyway, because Amsterdam has recently started cracking down on weed. Skyrocketing real estate prices and throngs of wasted tourists have pushed the city’s residents to a breaking point and convinced officials to revise the city’s reputation as a haven for weed and sex. Amsterdam recently prohibited all public cannabis consumption in its infamous red light district, and city officials are currently working to ban all tourists from visiting the city’s pot cafes.
Chris Moore via (https://merryjane.com/news/mike-tyson-just-opened-a-weed-friendly-coffeeshop-in-amsterdam)
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