George Clinton, the visionary bandleader behind Parliament-Funkadelic and a pioneer of psychedelic funk, has spent six decades reshaping the boundaries of music, culture and consciousness. At 83, he entered an industry he’s long championed from the sidelines: cannabis.
Clinton recently launched The Funk, a new cannabis brand created in partnership with Wiz Khalifa’s Khalifa Kush, at a time when the U.S. market is projected to generate over $35.3 billion in legal sales in 2025. The product debuted at Planet 13, the 112,000-square-foot Las Vegas dispensary that has become a launchpad for celebrity brands and immersive cannabis experiences.
And while dozens of entertainers have entered the space in recent years, Clinton arrives with a different kind of credibility. His relationship with cannabis dates back to the early 1960s—long before legalization—and has been inseparable from his music, worldview and public identity.
“When you sit down, put on something funky and get your head right, you should think of The Funk.”— George Clinton
A Lifetime With The Plant
Clinton’s history with cannabis began in the days of Acapulco Gold and unregulated Northern California grows. “In the early ’60s, it was all about whatever you could get,” he said. “But it was always for the mind. That part never changed.”
From doo-wop and Motown to the cosmic theatrics of Funkadelic, cannabis was a constant presence—not just a social lubricant but creative fuel. “We stayed lit to do all those albums,” he said. “That was the atmosphere. It was part of the process.”
For Clinton, it wasn’t escape; it was alignment. Even before formal medical research caught up, musicians intuitively understood the plant’s power. “I heard about the medical side back in the ’60s. Stress, anxiety, chilling out—we knew,” he said. “But America made more money pretending to stop …
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Author: Javier Hasse / High Times
