Before cannabis dispensaries became part of the American landscape, there were people like Russ.
The King of Cannabis, a crime drama inspired by true events and set in 1990s Philadelphia, follows one man’s rise through the underground cannabis trade during an era when legalization was still a distant prospect. The film is scheduled for a Philadelphia-area green-carpet premiere on October 24, ahead of a planned national theatrical release in AMC Theatres on October 30.
Written and directed by Sixx King, the film looks at the people who helped build an underground industry and the consequences they faced long before legal cannabis became a multibillion-dollar business.
“This is a story about cannabis, the people who built an underground industry around it, and what happened when the world finally caught up,” said King, CEO of Sixx Degrees Media.
A Cannabis Story Rooted in Philadelphia
The film stars Luis Guzmán and Alimi Ballard, alongside Charles Malik Whitfield. King wrote and directed the project, which comes from Sixx Degrees Media LLC in association with Plymouth Blvd Productions. The campaign is being developed with ArcHaus Strategies, the Philadelphia-based creative strategy firm founded by the film’s producer, Ebony Burns.
At its center, The King of Cannabis explores ambition, survival, and the consequences of operating in a cannabis economy that existed entirely outside the legal system. The story takes place before the modern dispensary industry, when the people involved in the trade faced risks that today’s legal operators encounter in very different forms.
That history gives the film its connection to Philadelphia, where the story is set and where the production is now returning for its next premiere.
From Los Angeles to Philadelphia
The King of Cannabis has already made stops in Los Angeles and New Jersey on its way to Philadelphia. The production held a green-carpet event at AMC The Grove 14 in Los Angeles on August 17. A New Jersey premiere followed on August 28, where organizers say demand was strong enough to require a second theater.
The Philadelphia-area premiere is scheduled for October 24, bringing the film back to the region where its story began. The filmmakers are planning a national theatrical release in AMC Theatres on October 30, with further screening and ticket information available through the film’s official website.
Bringing the Underground Era Back to the Screen
Cannabis has changed dramatically since the 1990s. What once operated underground has become a regulated commercial industry in much of the country, complete with dispensaries, corporate operators, and publicly traded companies.
The King of Cannabis looks back at the people who operated before that transformation and the personal consequences of building a business in a prohibited market. For the filmmakers, bringing that story to Philadelphia is a fitting stop before the film reaches a wider audience.
