Damian Marley partners to convert former CA prison to grow operation

The youngest son of late reggae star Bob Marley has joined with Ocean Grown Extracts to convert a former California state prison into a multimillion-dollar marijuana growing operation, a project that could spur other municipalities in the state to lure MJ businesses for their economic impact.

According to Billboard, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, also a reggae musician, sees turning the space into a grow operation as “poetic justice” for all the nonviolent criminals who were once incarcerated there.

“Many people sacrificed so much for the herb over the years who got locked up,” Marley, 38, told Billboard.

The first stage of the operation will produce cannabis oil extracts. The first crop is slated for harvest by January.

The project came to the forefront last July when the central California city of Coalinga put its former prison up for sale for $4.1 million. The deal was intended to help pull the city up out of $3.3 million in debt. It’s estimated the new operation will generate about 100 jobs and generate around $1 million in tax revenue for Coalinga.

The California town of Desert Hot Springs also has turned to cannabis for an economic shot in the arm.