Jason ‘BIGKUSHJAY’ Berry is a cannabis influencer with roots in the music industry. Born and raised in upstate NY, he started his career in NYC as an intern at Jive Records in the promotions department.

Quickly learning the ropes, he soon started a promotion and management company for mixtape DJ’s. All while holding down a job as marketing director for The Fridge Magazine, an independently published magazine that focused on the collision of action sports and hip-hop culture.

He combined his efforts which led him to Eminem’s Shady Records. After much success in the music industry, he decided to switch focus to Los Angeles and the cannabis industry.

Utilizing his DJ and marketing talent relationships he started the cannabis lifestyle brand Klub Kush DVD Mixtape Magazine, where he interviewed artists such as: B-Real, Method Man & Redman, Raekwon the Chef, Curren$y, & many more on the topic of weed & hip hop.

Klub Kush soon morphed into more than just a cannabis lifestyle brand encompassing clothes, bags, and cannabis lifestyle pieces. His book, Married to Marijuana, is his personal journey with weed and hip hop where he tells many of his stoner stories of him smoking and having fun with many of our favorite rap artists.

Today BigKushJay is more of a cannabis influencer than anything, working behind the scenes with Oaksterdam University helping to educate the greater Los Angeles area on the finer points of cannabis horticulture and business.

What is your personal cannabis story that inspired you to enter the cannabis industry?

As I worked within the entertainment industry for years, cannabis was always closely associated with most of the creatives I dealt with. When I decided to start my company, cannabis and hip hop was going to be the cornerstone of everything Klub Kush!

Do you think cannabis education for medical professionals and healthcare providers is lacking?

Yes, I feel education of the cannabis plant is very much lacking. Cannabis is a Schedule 1 drug which prohibits any federal funded studies. Making it very difficult for any education to happen without proper certified studies. The first priority in my option is to reschedule the plant.

As the author of “Married to Cannabis” and known apparel guru of Klub Kush clothing how have you found a balance between cannabis and fatherhood?

As a father, I’ve always found it to be transparent with everything with my kids. They see everything anyway; you might as well explain what’s going on. I wouldn’t consume it in front of them until they get much older.

When they were kids, I told them just because society deems this plant illegal, their father knows what’s right. I told them, the day will soon come when they will see the laws change.

Where do you see Klub Kush in the next 5 years?

The future of Klub Kush is interesting. With the cannabis industry growing so many mainstream business tentacles...who knows, LOL. I never want to pigeonhole myself, but trust Klub Kush will be alive and strong!

What is the best advice you can give a new entrepreneur entering the cannabis industry on longevity?

With the cannabis industry opening up across the country, it is easy to get distracted. I tell young entrepreneurs to stay focused on one project before moving on to the next.

Multiple streams of income is a tool of the rich, not a tool to get rich. So, if you’re working a 9-5, while trying to run a cannabis start up. Focus on the one business and make that successful before moving on to something else.

A big mistake is people try to create multiple revenue streams before securing their mainstream income. Focus, and it will all come in to play.