Making his way through the television industry, Australian native Jason Gann made a big decision to leave the acting industry and start focusing on having a company of his own, Wilfred Cannabis Pre-rolls.
You might be thinking, wasn’t that the essence of his character on his show, Wilfred. Yes, it is, and we sat down with Jason to talk business, spirituality within cannabis and his transition from actor to entrepreneur.
Transition To Entrepreneurship: Wilfred Cannabis Pre-Rolls
How did you first get started within the Cannabis Industry?
I was in Hollywood writing some scripts for different studios and networks but nothing was getting made. I was just in my office one day, frustrated, and I just did a joke ad on social media that said, “Wilfred’s weed delivery service in LA.”
All my fans, sort of went crazy about it. They were talking about taking road trips across America to California to smoke Wilfred’s weed. That was when I saw the potential, but I really didn’t think it would be possible at that point just because of rights.
I’m the creator of the show and creator of the character, but you sign your life away to the networks to make the show. So I had to jump through some hoops to get the rights, but once that happened, it was like green light, it was a really exciting feeling. Then, it was just a matter of trying to work out the kinds of products and the money aspect.
I sold my apartment, had some packaging designed, shot a commercial, got a manufacturing license in California and just threw myself into it. I was working on a script at the time, and I thought, if this script doesn’t get made then I’m not taking any new projects, I’m just going to throw everything into this company.
The cannabis pre-rolls are currently sold only in California. Have you thought about expanding?
Yeah, we’re about to enter Oregan in January. That’s been a deal that’s taken, probably, eight months to put together. It finally happened. We had contract negotiations going on in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Washington State when covid took hold, that just sort of changed everyone’s situation. Everyone was just trying to hold on to what they had and new business ventures were all put on hold.
The company also sells Hemp and CBD smokes–What propelled that transition?
I want to become the premier company leader for pre-rolls and smokes. In California, we’ve got the Sativa Indica hybrid which is the red, blue and green. We’re about to actually come out with a black label which is a premium infused pre-roll.
A lot of people purchase our CBD, and they say, “Let us know when you add the THC.” We are already in California and Oregan. I’m going to still try expanding the company in different territories. We are focused on packaged flower as well.
Have you thought about expanding into edibles?
Yeah, the reason why we haven’t yet is just because it can be a distraction; we are open to it if we find the right fit with the right partner. We want to be the best at what we do with pre-rolls, as good as we can for a minimum price. We can’t lose focus of what our endgame is. It makes sense to expand as we go, but it just hasn’t been practical yet.
On your website, you have ingredients listed and the lab results, was being transparent a priority for you and your brand?
In California, they are super strict with their regulations.
Hemp cigarettes that have been on the market for years have a really bad reputation of being full of biomass, and they don’t taste good. Because we spent a few years in the pre-rolls game, we know pre-rolls pretty well.
Can you talk about your connection with cannabis and spirituality?
My relationship with cannabis has been spiritual for many years. I started searching for as much information as I could find about it. Hemp and cannabis heal the planet, with paper, clothing and help reduce deforestation as well as the beef industry, with hemp. Besides there being so many physical benefits to the plants and the medical benefits, everyday there seems to be some new breakthrough. It’s also used medically to help with anxiety.
Spirituality of the plant doesn’t get much attention and I think the reason for that is that science still can’t prove the existence of the human soul. When science cannot prove that human souls exist, then it’s hard to give credence to a plant’s spirituality. That’s something that within this documentary series that I am still developing will dig into. It’s a search for the human soul through the use of cannabis.
