Inside Mike Tyson's $1 million-a-month marijuana empire

Boxing great Mike Tyson has transitioned from world champion knockout artist to film star and motivational speaker during his illustrious career – and now he has found his latest lucrative endeavor: his multi-million dollar cannabis business.

Tyson has been selling cannabis products since 2016 through his Tyson Holistic label and is believed to earn around £500,000-per-month (NZ$1m) through his business.

The 53-year-old also has sights on expanding into a reported 418-acre weed-themed holiday resort and a "Tyson University" for wannabe weed farmers.

Tyson, who struggled for years with substance abuse including cocaine, says he found comfort in marijuana and hopes to use his business to engage debate and spread awareness of the medicinal value of cannabis.

"I thought about how much good I could do by helping people with cannabis," Tyson told Cannabis Tech Today. "It was a no-brainer."

The drug has made a big difference to Tyson's life, according to his business partner Rob Hickman.

"It changed his life," Hickman told GQ. "He's the perfect person."

Tyson, who has confessed to smoking over $80,000 of his own supply every month, believes that CBD – one of the ingredients of cannabis – can help fight opiate addiction.

"I've been fighting for over 20 years, and my body has a lot of wear and tear," he said.

"I had two surgeries and I used marijuana to calm my nerves, and it would take the pain away.

"But before, they had me on those opiates, and those opiates had me all screwed up."

In 2018, Tyson revealed his plan to expand his cannabis empire into a marijuana-themed theme park, located in California where the drug is legal, described as the "wonderland of weed" that promotes health and wellness.

The 'Tyson Ranch' will reportedly let customers stay in luxury hotels or 'glamping' tents and boasts the "world's longest lazy river" – a water raft ride for guests.

In February last year, Tyson held a small pop-up music festival called 'Kind Music Festival' at the ranch which included artists like Miguel and A$AP Ferg.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission