Cannabis Startups: Gas House, the Legal Cannabis Empire Valued at 40 Million Dollars
Kingston and Felix are leading one of the most powerful legal cannabis startups in the industry.
Gas House’s inspirational rise from the streets to the stores tells a compelling story full of challenges and setbacks, but of a dream that is finally now becoming realized.
Living in the Shadows
In 2016, Vice published a video featuring an anonymous kingpin clad in sunglasses, a bandana around his nose and mouth, and a wig.
The video is all about Kingston, the former black market cannabis cultivator who sold his premium flower to hip-hop stars and pro athletes.
For 20 years, his goals for “going legit” came with many challenges.
Kingston’s grow house was hidden in the garage of a normal looking home in a middle-class suburb in Atlanta, with the garage door sealed shut.
When asked about why he continued to grow even though it’s been illegal for so long, Kingston replied with, “There’s nothing I’ve ever done in my life that makes me feel like what I’m doing right now.”
When Kingston was asked if his family or friends knew about what he did, or if he’s ever brought anyone around to the grow house, he answered,
“No. Because right now, the value of this crop can get us both killed.”
And that’s exactly why Kingston felt like he was ready to go into the legal market. Since he couldn’t tell anyone about his passion and livelihood, he felt “boxed in”.
Little did he know at the time, two years later, Kingston would be leading one of the most powerful legal cannabis startups in the industry two years later.
The Mask Comes Off
Fast forward two years later, Kingston and Felix, the formerly anonymous co-founder, have been undergoing a lot of changes.
Vice was able to capture it all again in a video published in August 2018.
Felix and Kingston are proud founders of the legal Oakland-based cannabis empire valued at 40 million dollars, Gas House.
Kingston takes a moment to reflect on his drive behind founding Gas House,
“[This is] cannabis’s first shot at legacy. For my family, [I can] build a generation of wealth for my kids, [and] build opportunities to be great.”
The video acknowledges that “legalizing a marijuana business means more than a paper from the state that grants a license to grow; it means building and marketing a brand, and with constantly changing laws and regulations (like childproof packaging and mandatory testing) it’s a world away from the dime bags of the past.”
And that’s exactly where we came in.

How Marketing and Compliance Can Make or Break a Cannabis Brand
From a website, to photography, to packaging and compliance, we were able to create assets to support the award-winning brand.
It’s important to us that businesses ran by people like Kingston and Felix don’t just meet the requirements, but thrive.
Their story of what they’ve gone through to get where they are today is inspiring to us, which is a huge drive in what compelled us to work with them.
Jason Beck, the long-time owner of Alternative Herbal Health Services in Los Angeles, held Gas House products in his dispensary ever since Day 1 of Gas House being on the legal market.
Beck, as a fellow “drug war veteran”, shared,
“Everyone has to get re-programmed, in a sense, for a whole new way of operating under a compliant industry.”

The Importance of Supporting Black-Owned Cannabis Brands and Businesses
When asked to consider if there were any other black-owned cannabis businesses that were performing as well as Gas House, the cannabis experts in the video could only think of one other brand.
So when then asked about what could’ve lead to the situation where “when these people have marijuana in their hands, it’s 5 to 10 years in prison, but when this suburban mom has it in hers, it’s medicine”, Felix and Kingston had an insightful and thought-provoking answer.
“Well, it goes back to skin color. It goes back to why marijuana was outlawed in the first place, and why drug laws were put into place. Because there was something that they felt they could put blacks and hippies in jail with.”
And though those days were generations away, modern law enforcement and the justice system have been known to act like we’re still in the past.
There have been many cases of those old-fashioned ideals coming up when it comes to prosecuting people of color for the same crimes that white people will receive a slap on the wrist for.
When asked about if that contributed to the lack of minority participation in the industry, Felix and Kingston agreed, “Wouldn’t you be scared of something that persecutes you and your relatives and your friends and stuff and going to jail for it? […] You think of weed, marijuana, cannabis, whatever you want to call it, you think of minorities only being sellers. Street peddlers. You don’t look at them as being in the industry with a brand.”

The Future of Gas House
Kingston and Felix are on to great things as they embark on expanding their Gas House enterprise to more legal states throughout the country.
And we support them every step of the way.
I watched the story about GasHouse and I was very impressed. Congratulations by the way. I’m trying to get into the cannabis business as a delivery dispensary (no store front) is there any advice you can share or information about resources and where to go for help. I’m not a Oakland resident.
Hi Mechelle! Thanks for reaching out. Congratulations on your budding canna-business! Our biggest advice for you would be to stay up to date on compliance regulations and to incorporate a brand identity that’s true to you. Those two factors can create a solid foundation for any cannabis business. If you have any other questions, we’d be happy to chat with you at 1-916-374-5370.
Impressed by your story. Keep up the good work you are doing. I live in the US Virgin Islands where we do have some laws decriminalizing the use of cannabis. What advice do you have for someone who wants to create a niche in the cannabis industry but lives in a location where the laws do not permit selling openly? Is there a way to drop ship cannabis products legally?
Hi Adrian! Because of your local laws, unfortunately, selling cannabis isn’t legally possible in your area. However, if you wanted to create an ancillary service or brand, that is something that we recommend that you do. If you have any other questions, feel free to give us a call any time. Thanks for reaching out!
Will the company be publicly traded on the stock exchange anytime soon?
Stay updated on our social media pages to find out 😉
Notin the U.S..
Canada…I will spare everyone the Hypocrasy of whats happening throughout the World..As long as its scheduled 1.. But politicians and other world leaders are possitiining themselves as we speak along with Big Pharmaceutical..Like GW Pharmaceutical owned by Bayer..as we speak..
Hey Andre! Thanks for your feedback. If you’re interested in getting involved with the cannabis community and getting your voice heard, feel free to check out the
Sacramento Cannabis Industry Association
. If you have any more questions, feel free to contact us.