The NJ native and rapper Redman debuted his new Muddy Waters drinks at the 2026 NECANN industry convention and 2^nd annual Cannabis Cup in Atlantic City.

The convention was a great gathering of local, minority, female, craft, and variously former underground legacy to legal operators, large corporate Multi-State Operators (MSOs), and many in between. The Atlantic City Convention Center show floor, stages, and sidewalks all had many pushing the sacred herb and the business around it in the Garden State forward.

Redman Promotes Muddy Waters Drinks

The legendary rapper and North Jersey native Reggie “Redman” “Doc” Noble was on the scene promoting his new Muddy Waters THCA hemp drink named after his famous album.

On a panel, it was explained that he is working with Juice Joint. They’re a longtime exhibitor at NECANN that sells great THCA-hemp-infused juice.

Now they’re working with longtime consultant and advocate Leo Bridgewater along with House of Kush CEO Reggie Harris on the Muddy Waters drink line. It’s an infused coconut water drink with mango, pineapple, and key lime pie flavors.

Leo started the panel by asking if anyone had a question.

“What makes the drink special?” I asked.

“You’re getting an experience in a new way of tasting coconut water,” Redman explained. “If you didn’t know there was coconut water in it, you wouldn’t know there’s coconut water in it.”

“It’s powered by science. It’s powered by culture,” he added.

“…You’re buying into legacy. You’re buying into what’s part of me as an artist…,” Redman explained.

He said pineapple was his favorite of them.

“We want to give an alternative to digesting cannabis. This is like my first product… I never white-labeled anything…. I never had any brands I collaborated with. So, I stand firm with this,” Redman declared.

Juice Joint has been operating on the hemp model. But they’re looking to get into dispensaries as well now.

Connecting Juice Joint with Redman

Juice Joint is a mom-and-pop company run by Matthew and Crystal Lovett. Matthew explained that Crystal handles the science and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

“She was 8 months pregnant when Redman came to us with Leo,” Matthew said. “The funny thing is we always wanted to do a coconut water.”

“So Doc came to the house… By 1 o’clock I got Redman sitting in the dining room!” he exclaimed.

“First I was sitting on your sidewalk!” Redman declared to laughter.

Matthew called Redman a gentleman for thinking it impolite to enter the house while Crystal was home alone and pregnant. He noted he was picking up LB from the train when Redman arrived.

“He wouldn’t come into the house unless the man of the house was there. That’s the old school way,” Leo noted.

Fighting for Federal Cannabis Legalization via Descheduling

Redman has been involved in the cannabis legalization movement for some time. He is a leader of the United Empowerment Party (UEP) and promoted it as a vehicle for cannabis legalization advocacy.

“The main goal is to galvanize. There’s power in numbers,” Redman declared. “Our mission statement is to deschedule!”

He noted he and Method Man lost deals by promoting weed in rap songs in the 90s.

Redman and others, like Snoop Dog and Cyprus Hill, arguably helped to popularize cannabis as part of a broader legalization movement. It’s similar to the way Bob Dylan’s songs were part of a movement for civil rights and against the Vietnam War in the 60s.

A federal hemp ban is likely to go through in December 2026 unless something changes drastically, which is possible.

So they are looking to get Muddy Waters into NJ dispensaries as well as liquor stores and smoke shops.

(Check out more on the panel on The Heady Chronicle podcast!)

2^nd Annual NECANN NJ Cannabis Cup

NECANN Marc Shepard opened the Cannabis Cup and explained how happy they were to be doing the 2^nd annual NECANN NJ Cannabis Cup. He also explained that the Ganjier Guild handled the judging and awarding.

So, a representative of the Ganjier Guild presented the awards.

Best Overall:

• Indigo East- Mochi Melon

Best Dispensary:

• Indigo Dispensary

Dispensaries with 5-star ratings:

• Molly Ann Farms
• Indigo Dispensary
• Holistic Solutions
• Green Lightning Dispensary
• Plantopia LLC

Best Hybrid Flower

•   1st Place: Indigo East- Mochi Melon
•   2nd Place: Green Lightning- Specimen X
•   3rd Place: Exotica Gardens- Papaya Mimosa

Best Indica Flower

• 1st Place: All Access (Niche)- Zkittlez Marker #8
• 2nd Place: All Access (Niche)- Animal Tsunami
• 3rd Place: Bass River Buds- Ice Cream Cake

Best Sativa Flower

• 1st Place: Bass River Buds- Blue Dream
• 2nd Place: All Access (Niche)- Blueberry Caviar
• 3rd Place: Clade9- J1

Best Pre-roll

• 1st Place: Fuzzy Buddies (Triple G Labs)- Strawberry Lemonade Infused Pre-roll
• 2nd Place: Swift Lifts (Verano)- Strawberry Cough Infused Pre-roll
• 3rd Place: Geodesic (Triple G Labs)- Refresh

Best Solvent Concentrate

• 1st Place: Local’s Only (Clade 9)- Lemon Cherry Gelato
• 2nd Place: Dab Science- Mango Trees Whipped Diamonds
• 3rd Place: Sun Extractions- Super Villain Live Resin

Best Non-Solvent Concentrate

• 1st Place: Gruv (Green Lightning)- Chimax
• 2nd Place: Belushi’s Farm (High Grass Farms)- Hashburger
• 3rd Place: Melt (Clade9)- Lemon Cherry Gelato

Best Gummies

• 1st Place: Mule Extracts- Strawberry Lemonade Quad Mini Kickers
• 2nd Place: Geodesic (Triple G Labs)- Orange Chai Latte
• 3rd Place: Smokiez- Sour Watermelon

Best Beverage

• 1st Place: Boho Euphorics- Blue Raspberry Syrup Shots
• 2nd Place: Levia (Kushi Labs)- Achieve Drink Drops
• 3rd Place: Journeyman (Greater Purpose)- Strawberry Hash Rosin Lemonade

Best Vape

• 1^st Place: Dime Pink Lemonade Haze
• 2^nd Place: Geen Lightning Pina Colada Water Ice
• 3^rd Place: Canna Caviar God’s Gift Liquid Diamonds

Cannabis Industry Parties Galore

NECANN has sprung many parties around it. There were parties before it even formally started that Heady NJ unfortunately missed.

The Friday night Wonderland party hosted by Garden Greens and brands like Miss Grass was wild with the Alice in Wonderland theme. Unfortunately, the hot boxing of the Anchor Rock Club was overwhelming far too quickly for me personally.

The High Rollers dispensary also hosted a fun party with Glass Meadows promoting their new Cheech and Chong collaboration brand. The upstairs lounge of the Claridge Hotel hosted a very unique part of the party where one could smoke weed and drink after being supplied with tickets.

On Saturday morning, leading advocate Jessica F. Gonzalez and the Latino Cannabis Alliance hosted a Blunt Brunch at the edge of the convention floor.

“If we don’t see more of us here, we’re gonna lose,” she declared in a passionate speech posted on Instagram.

NECANN Show Floor Buzz

So much was happening on the vast NECANN show floor and during the large cannabis industry convention that Heady NJ can only share a few observations.

Unfortunately, while entertainer and cannabis cultivator Jim Belushi was spotted on the show floor, Heady NJ did not get a chance to speak with him.

There were multiple formal panels and talks going on throughout the Atlantic City Convention Center. Dispensary Guy Mike Wiehl led, for example, a discussion on the need to legalize NJ home cannabis gardening.

Numerous good brands were on the floor promoting themselves with a range of fascinating booths. So it’s hard to go into all the details.

Dispensaries with multiple locations and/or their own flower and products were prominent on the floor, which shows how the NJ cannabis market has developed.

Many NJ content creators and brands were on the scene making the rounds. Notably, the Frosted Nug dispensary hosted its own industry podcast in a large booth.

The NJ Cannabis Trade Association (NJCTA) and the NJ Cannabis Chamber of Commerce were among those tabling, along with the Coalition for Medical Marijuana of NJ (CMMNJ).