Two dispensaries are going to be opened in St. Louis by a former NBA star from the city and his former teammate.
Viola Brands, Al Harrington’s cannabis company, will soon be available in St. Louis thanks to a partnership between Al Harrington and Larry Hughes.
A conceptual drawing of the medical marijuana shop that will open on January 20 at 2001 Olive Street.
ST. LOUIS — Al Harrington and Larry Hughes, both of whom played in the NBA in the past, are reuniting in order to introduce Harrington’s cannabis company, Viola Brands, to the city of St. Louis.
This month, Viola, a cannabis dispensary company based in Los Angeles, will launch two more locations. The first Viola MO location will open on January 20 at 2001 Olive Street, which is directly across the street from the Citypark Major League Soccer stadium in Downtown West. The second ViolaMO location, which will open on January 27 at 3420 Iowa Street in Gravois Park, will be the company’s flagship store.
The Viola STL brand will be used in both of the dispensaries that are located in St. Louis.
The partnership between Hughes, a native of St. Louis who attended Saint Louis University prior to being chosen into the NBA, and Harrington was originally announced in November 2020. Hughes played college basketball at Saint Louis University. Prior to that, the two spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons playing together on the New York Knicks.
“As a native of St. Louis, it is my responsibility to comprehend what is out there in space and to make every effort to bring some of those discoveries back with me,” Hughes said. “Therefore, from my perspective, it was entirely a play for the community. It’s about doing good things and contributing to the growth of the community.”
The ambition that Hughes had to establish Viola in his hometown coincided with Harrington’s goals for the company.
“One of the main goals of Viola is to empower, uplift, educate, and create opportunities for people of color,” Harrington said, adding that he views the cannabis market as an opportunity to create generational wealth for the Black community. “One of the main goals of Viola is to empower, uplift, educate, and create opportunities for people of color,” Harrington said. “The people who are most negatively impacted by the War on Drugs.”
According to a press release issued by the company, ViolaMO is committed to not just assisting underserved areas in the cannabis industry with employment opportunities but also with training and premium cannabis products.
According to the statement, the company intends to hire around 200 people from a variety of racial backgrounds. This number comprises those working in retail, as well as employees in cultivation and processing, compliance and marketing, and legal.

Laura McQueen is a writer for MJGreenNews.com.
She has been writing for different cannabis websites and publications since 2018.