ROHAN Marley, son of late reggae king Bob Marley and Janet Hunt, and a Colorado firm have applied to open a medical marijuana dispensary in New Jersey.

Marley is partnering with Colorado-based dispensary, Lightshade, to get a licence to open a medical cannabis dispensary in Essex County, according to The Record in North Jersey.

The application could be one of several approved by the state, as it was recently announced that “five cultivation, four vertically integrated and 15 retail dispensary licenses would be granted”.

Once approved, Marley would reportedly handle the marketing and hiring for the company, said the report. He also intends to introduce his own medicinal strain of cannabis in New Jersey with Lightshade.

In a statement, the 47-year-old said his family has long advocated the medicinal benefits of marijuana.

This is not Marley’s first foray in business.

In 2009, he co-founded Marley Coffee, an organic coffee plantation and “sustainable” farming business in Jamaica’s Blue Mountains. The business is run on a 52-acre estate in Portland. And, in January 2012, Marley advertised a new House of Marley range of eco-friendly headphones at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

— BB