If you’ve ever smoked Viola then you’re probably familiar with CEO Al Harrington.
Al Harrington is a 16-year NBA veteran turned cannabis entrepreneur. He owns multiple brands across the industry including Viola and Harrington Wellness, which produces his re+PLAY CBD brand.
As the story goes, Harrington started using cannabis during his NBA career as an alternative to opioids. He had many injuries that sidelined him over time, and knowing the negative effects that pain pills can have on the body, he knew there was a better way. Weed was that way.
After retiring from the NBA, Harrington moved into the cannabis industry with his company Viola. Viola was named after his grandmother, who he introduced to cannabis and all of its healing properties.
We got the chance to chop it up with Viola frontman about some of the cannabis products he can’t live without.
re+PLAY Hemp Extracts
As you’d expect, most of the products Harrington uses are from his own companies. He quite literally gets high off his own supply. Of those products, the one brand he champions the most for healing supplements is his re+PLAY capsules, tinctures, and topicals.
“Our topicals are really good. We have some technology in our cream base that penetrates the skin five times faster and deeper than anything on the market. I obviously use that on a daily basis, usually, a lot on my neck, believe it or not. It kind of like just loosens me up for the day.”
After 16 years in the league, Al’s body simply couldn’t take anymore NBA basketball. His next journey became Ice Cube’s BIG3 League, which hosts retired NBA veterans and overseas talent. The Big 3 was the first professional league to allow the use of CBD for pain management and recovery.
“If I had re+PLAY Hemp Extract available towards the end of my [NBA] career, I feel like I could have played longer. I could not get the swelling out of my knee is why I retired. I started using [hemp topicals], that’s why I was able to play in the BIG3 for two years and pain-free, no swelling.”
Available: Nationwide
Puffco Peak
“I don’t leave home without my Puffco Peak,” Harrington told us.
The Puffco Peak is one of the best portable vaporizers on the market. It bolsters an incredibly flavorful smoking experience from four different temperature settings: Blue (450 degrees F), Green (500 degrees F), Red (550 degrees F), and White (600 degrees F). Al prefers the Red.
Portability and ease of use, complete with a carrying case and customization through accessories, are why stoners hold this device in the highest regard.
It comes with a hefty price tag, but being able to hit perfectly-tempered dabs in 20 seconds’ time — without all the torches and butanes — makes it well worth the ticket.
Viola flower
Viola offers a complete product line including flower, concentrates, pre-rolls, vape pens — everything, all of that. Harrington keeps a fresh eighth of Viola’s premium indoor flower on him at all times.
The company produces a full slew of strains and chemotypes, of which Al says, “I like all of our OGs and our hybrid indicas because I like to relax when I consume.”
Viola concentrates
What’s inside of Harrington’s Puffco Peak? Viola concentrates, of course. “My favorite strain of concentrates right now is Papaya OG.”
You can get Viola concentrates in many forms including Live Resin, Shatter, Budder, and Sauce. They also make vape pens.
Viola pre-rolls
Last of Al’s top 5 products are his Viola pre-rolls. They’re made with premium indoor flower.
Viola products are available in California, Oregon, Michigan, and Colorado. If you’d like to try their pre-rolls, flower, and concentrates all at once, scoop up the Viola Influencer Pack. It contains a half-ounce of bud, 1 gram of dabs, and a couple of glass-tip pre-rolls.
Viola’s THC products are available in these states: California, Colorado, Michigan, Oregon
Viola’s CBD products are available in these states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Washington
Interview by Nic Juarez. Written by Dante Jordan. Graphic design by David Lozada.