C.J. WALLACE, whose mother is singer Faith Evans, has unveiled the Think BIG label with Lowell Herb Co., which will produce a variety of cannabis products, including pre-rolled joints, vapes, and gummies, as well as apparel and stationery.

The 22 year-old actor said he was inspired to get into the legalised marijuana industry because weed has long been a part of his life – from his parents’ use of the drug to the cannabidiol (CBD) treatments undergone by his younger brother Ryder, who is on the autism spectrum.

Speaking to Variety, Wallace said: “Cannabis is something I’ve always been connected to, even at a young age. (Think BIG was) born of a shared mission for social justice and a fundamental goal to herald in a new era where cannabis is no longer considered contraband, but a catalyst for creativity.”

Some of the products on offer will be a pre-roll pack called The Frank White Creative Blend, taking its name from Christopher Walken’s famed drug dealer character in 1990 crime thriller King of New York.

Notorious B.I.G. adopted the name as his alter ego and initially rapped about it on the song The What, from his debut album Ready to Die.

Wallace and his business partner Willie Mack aim to use some of the company’s proceeds to help prioritise social justice initiatives, like the Prison Arts Project, through which organisers hope to use art as a positive influence on those serving time behind bars.

“The goal is to celebrate cannabis,” Lowell marketing director Dominic Grech shares. “We’re tired of the negative stigma surrounding it. We felt C.J. and Willie were the perfect pair for us to get in business with.”

Wallace also wants to use Think BIG to cast his hip-hop icon dad “in a different light,” remembering him as a family man instead of just the tough persona he became known for.

“All I heard growing up was the bad stuff… that he was a drug dealer, a gangster rapper, a criminal,” he says. “Now that I’ve grown older, I realise he was a father, a loving son, someone who cared about his friends, girlfriends and wives. That’s what I want to honour.”