Miami Heat OG Udonis Haslem Is Getting His Own Weed Strain

Just in time for the high holidaze, a South Florida family-owned medical marijuana dispensary is debuting a new product in honor of Miami's OG.

The Flowery announced that on April 19, coinciding with its fifth-year anniversary, it will release a weed strain and brand in partnership with Miami Heat legend Udonis "UD" Haslem, the three-time NBA Champion who retired last summer following an illustrious career in the league.

The collaboration is named "40 OG," a nod to Haslem's nickname and jersey number.

"As a local legend and community activist, UD stayed in touch and supported from afar as his NBA career was still thriving," Bryan Peguero, a spokesperson for the Flowery, tells New Times. "Now that UD has officially retired from the NBA and begun to pursue other ventures, we're honored to partner and launch together."

"40 OG" cannabis flower — packaged in 3.5-gram glass jars — will soon be available at the Flowery's Florida locations and on its website for delivery. The marketing materials for the strain show a logo of an orange basketball morphed into the shape of a weed leaf.

The Flowery says that as the only family-owned medical cannabis dispensary in Florida, it prides itself on producing high-quality goods locally, and that it's not beholden to large corporate stakeholders (in contrast to cannabis giants like Trulieve and Surterra). The Miami-based company opened its first brick-and-mortar dispensary in 2022 on Biscayne Boulevard and has since expanded its presence to six other stores statewide.

The Flowery team hunted down a unique "OG cross strain" of cannabis for Haslem, who Peguero says has been a supporter of the company since its early days. (Haslem's wife, Faith Haslem, previously partnered with the Flowery.)

Haslem has been heavily involved in the collaboration since the idea first emerged, Peguero says, from meeting with the company's director of cultivation to sampling and pheno-hunting, which is the process of selecting the best qualities of a cannabis strain for mass production.

After playing college basketball for the Florida Gators, Haslem spent his entire 20-year career with the Miami Heat, where he became the longest-tenured player in franchise history. He announced his retirement in July 2023 after the Heat lost the finals to the Denver Nuggets. The team retired his No. 40 jersey in January.