Joe Exotic Launches Delta-8 Weed Brand and It Doesn't Disappoint

There was a time when all it took to reach the highest levels of celebrity notoriety was sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll, and not necessarily all three. All a musician or actor needed was a DUI, some petty crime, or a sex tape to keep their names ringing in the public’s ear. However, trading on the misery of the infamous takes more effort and spectacle these days, as evidence by the smash docu-series Tiger King.

In the dark and early days of the 2020 pandemic, many of us sought solace through tethered escapism, and, collectively, we turned to Joe Exotic’s tale of infamy that included (spoiler alert) polyamory, a sex cult, drugs, guns, loss of limbs, charismatic megafauna, trademark infringement, bad photoshops, self-produced music videos, petty Facebook feuds, tax fraud, politics, fire, murder, and expired meat from Walmart dumpsters. 

Tiger King's primary subject, Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, currently spends his days as a guest of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. But his larger-than-life persona can’t be stopped by steel cages and barbed wire. The Tiger King’s latest venture takes him into the cannabis space, but more specifically, the nebulous and grey-area Delta-8 market, with the debut of his own branded line of flower and infused beverages called “Joe’s Exotics.”

The branding and packaging, which tabloid website TMZ got the first look at, portrays Joe Exotic sitting on a tiger-themed throne, smoking a blunt, surrounded by big cats and plenty of weed. The tagline for Joe’s Exotics is “the new king of cannabis,” demonstrating to the world that incarceration and COVID haven’t dampened Joe’s bravado and showmanship. Other touches reflective of Joe’s persona include a cannabis/pride flag printed on the bottom of the standing pouch and a tiger stripe pattern lining the inside.

Archnemesis Carole Baskins may have ultimately succeeded in shutting down Joe Exotic’s zoo, but the can label design for Joe’s Exotics infused beverages, dubbed “Tiger Piss,” shows he hasn’t buried the hatchet. To the left of a standing white tiger is a headstone that reads “RIP Carole,” except the P gets crossed out and “Hell” is written in, and a small pile of excrement stands directly in front. 

Classy.

Maldonado wouldn’t be the first to run a drug enterprise from behind bars, and while both had exotic menageries, Joe Exotic is certainly no Pablo Escobar. Then again, selling expensive party drugs isn't on-brand for the Tiger King. No, fake gas station weed is precisely the kind of drug we’d expect from Joe Exotic, lending the brand undeniable authenticity.

Later in the summer, Joe’s upstart brand also plans on releasing THC products in California dispensaries, likely in the form of vaporizers, joints, and flower.

If selling Delta-8 and THC doesn’t work out for Joe Exotic, maybe his reality dating TV show will strike gold. Joe is also looking for a new husband in a Bachelor-style contest, and the show will gladly accept your applications now.