Rob Sims and Calvin Johnson switch to cannabis from the NFL

Rob Sims played nine seasons in the NFL as an offensive lineman, the first four years with the Seattle Seahawks and the last five with the Detroit Lions. Sims was a fourth-round pick by Ohio State University in the 2006 NFL Draft and played in 125 games, starting in 114 as a left guard, before retiring in 2014.

While in Detroit, Sims was also teammates with Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson, who was arguably the best wide receiver of his generation. Sims and Johnson became close during their time in Michigan, and after Megatron retired in 2015, the two teamed up for the second act of their career on a cannabis-focused project. The former teammates have teamed up to run Primiv, which bills itself as a “cannabis research company dedicated to the compassionate care of medical marijuana patients in the United States.”

Power Pairing’s business has a product, retail, pharmacy and merchandise line headquartered in the company’s 12,000-square-foot facility in Webberville, Michigan, but it’s also trying to make a difference with wellness and research to treat chronic diseases traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and cancer through institutions such as Harvard University.

A secret cannabis culture in the NFL

“Like the NFL, I feel like the industry and opportunity found me in cannabis,” Sims said in an interview with Weedmaps News. “I have used cannabis while gaming to help with pain and anxiety. The NFL is a very demanding job. I felt it to be a safer alternative than prescription drugs containing opioids and muscle relaxants, things I really didn’t know much about. I haven’t seen people having pleasant experiences with it. An opioid epidemic broke out [in the NFL].

“On every team I’ve been on, college or pro, there have been a handful of people who used cannabis instead of opioids. There has been a secret cannabis culture in the NFL all along that is finally getting a chance to be on the front lines. We can now have real dialogue and conversations about it. For us at Primiv, we are focused on building the cleanest, most responsible brand that could champion the NFL when it comes to the point [of cannabis adoption].”

Sims turned to the power of plants instead of opioids to relieve pain after tearing a pectoral muscle off a bone in 2008. Although he used cannabis, he was never fined for any cannabis-related offences.

“I had a choice between medicine and cannabis, and I chose cannabis and haven’t looked back since,” he said. “My wife Natalie suffered from Crohn’s disease and I was able to treat her with cannabis as well. [Using cannabis] has become a part of our lives and our appreciation for the plant has led to business.”

Sims and Johnson played together for the Lions for five years and made the playoffs twice. Sims was a 16-game starter throughout his tenure at Detroit, and he became close to Johnson as the wide receiver rewrote the record books.

“Calvin has always been the humble guy in the dressing room,” Sims said. “I was drawn to him from day one because of the way he did his business. I knew what kind of guy he was. I knew his footballing streak would translate into business – in terms of perseverance and the pursuit of excellence. Simply put good days on good days. We’ve been in business together for over four years now and it’s been a great ride. The future is bright for us.”

Sims’ father, Robert Anderson “Mickey” Sims, was also a player in the NFL. As a second-generation NFL athlete, he was always interested in securing his second act in life after his playing career ended. After a deal in real estate, Sims said Primiv is now sating his entrepreneurial appetite.

Changing the narrative around cannabis use

“Looking around, I saw a lot of guys who didn’t have a plan, and I was one of them. As players, we’re conditioned to following a plan rather than making one,” Sims said. “Primitiv is a brand that focuses on not just getting high. We’ve leveraged our playing days and how we’ve been able to take care of our bodies and bring that message to our business where we have a pure and authentic story to tell. This not only applies to our business, but also to our internal customers and our team. We are not only concerned with wellness, but with quality of life. We put ourselves in the right places with the right people.

“Our cause is, ‘How do you change the stigma around cannabis and legitimize the industry?’

Much of our education is based on our research efforts. There are many people out there selling, growing and processing cannabis. At the consumer level, there are many people who know it works for them, but we don’t know scientifically why it works for them. We want to be able to uncover that and show the public how we can get our message out to more people.”

Primiv partnered with Harvard University’s International Phytomedicines and Medical Cannabis Institute in 2019 to research the plant’s benefits and look for the best ways to deliver cannabis-based drugs to cancer cells in patients.

The research is being led by Wilfred Ngwa, a cancer researcher who has worked with Harvard University and Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Primiv also wants to play a central role in the treatment of neurodegenerative CTE, a debilitating disease that research has shown is becoming more prevalent among soccer players.

“We see ourselves as savvy business people, but we still have a long way to go in terms of research,” Sims said. “To bring our medicine to Harvard, we can propose the best product.”

When they’re not harvesting nearly 100 pounds (45.4 kilograms) of flowers a week, which reach Michigan’s Lansing and Niles dispensaries, Sims and Johnson are also ambassadors for the Last Prisoner Project, a criminal justice reform group for crime-related crimes with cannabis.

“These kinds of initiatives are really important to us,” Sims said. “We, as minorities and as African Americans, have a duty to stand up for social justice, and part of our mission is to help those incarcerated [due to cannabis use].”

Cannabis was not legal for adult use in Michigan until the law was repealed in 2018.

Four years later, and Detroit cannabis culture seems to be red hot. Michigan-born basketball star Chris Webber was part of a $50 million investment to build a 180,000-square-foot cannabis conservatory at the old General Motors factory site in southwest Detroit in September 2021.

looking ahead

Sims says her focus over the next year will be to focus on product research being studied at a variety of academic institutions, including Johns Hopkins University, and to bring the researched cannabis to the masses.

“Our brand is gaining traction in Michigan. But our story is not yet fully told. We are still a young company. With the relationships we can build, it brings us more relationships. We have many doors that are opening,” Sims said.

“We had our chance with fame and fortune. Now we just enjoy serving people. we are real We are not a gimmick. We are not here today and gone tomorrow. We are here for the long haul.”