Starring Luis Guzmán, Alimi Ballard, and Charles Malik Whitfield, the crime drama inspired by true events explores ambition, loyalty, and the underground cannabis trade.
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.
Pandemic Delays Changed the Film’s Production
Getting The King of Cannabis to the screen took longer than the filmmakers anticipated. Production was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a problem that became increasingly difficult to solve as the years passed. While the adult cast members could return to their roles without significant changes in appearance, the younger actors playing Young Russ and Tasha had grown up. King said the delays ultimately forced the team to rethink how the film would be completed.
“This was a labor of love,” he said. “We shot some incredible content, and then quarantine shut us down. With the adult actors, you don’t notice a five- or six-year gap. But the two younger characters, Young Russ and Tasha, grew up. So we had to change the film completely. Honestly, this would not be the same film if we had finished it pre-COVID. My amazing producer, Ebony Burns, helped us bridge that gap in partnership with MIRAA to tell the story right, bringing the old footage and the new together as one film.”
The production partnered with MIRAA, a company developing a marketplace for licensing performer likenesses, voices, and digital rights. According to the filmmakers, the team used AI-assisted digital filmmaking tools to complete scenes that could no longer be reshot as originally planned. The technology helped bridge footage captured before the pandemic with scenes needed years later to finish the story. The production says the approach allowed it to bring the earlier performances and newly completed material together into a single film.
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.
The King of Cannabis is scheduled to premiere in the Philadelphia area on October 24, ahead of its planned October 30 national theatrical release. Additional information is available at kingofcannabismovie.com.
Images courtesy of Sixx Degrees Media.
