From Marijuana to Movies – Guy Griffithe’s tale of extraordinary success in both

He’s currently involved with over 11 companies and has invested heavily in the technology and cannabis boom. How did Guy Griffithe go from being anti-marijuana to building one of the most premiere cannabis companies and revolutionizing the film industry? His journey is nothing short of extraordinary.

Griffithe was born in San Bernardino, CA to Elizabeth Griffithe. She raised her seven children primarily as a working, single mother, which came with challenges for the children. Griffithe taught himself how to swim, read, and write. At 13-years-old, he was answering the phone, making sales calls and setting appointments for his mother. He landed a telemarketing job for a publishing company at just 15-years-old. His gritty determination and perseverance led to his promotion to manager of sales, customer service, and the collections department. By 16-years-old Griffithe was making a $36,000 salary, so he decided to get a clean break: buy his first condo and emancipate himself.

At the age of 18, Griffithe started making $80,000 a year working for the third largest computer distributor in the world. At 22 he founded his own mortgage brokerage, Fast Loans Mortgage, which later became Bridgegate Funding, Inc. Griffithe not only expanded his company to 17 states in nine months, but was licensed in 38 – this is where he made his first million and he continued to build his success for what seemed like many years to come.

In 2008, Griffithe faced several challenges that changed his life. His wife divorced him, the housing market crashed, and his business partner betrayed him; it felt like he had spent his life building everything only to have lost it all. During this dark time, even with the best of intentions, he was unable to make rational decisions and wasn’t sure if he had the strength to carry on.

It is hard to keep an entrepreneur down for long. Griffithe found opportunity in an industry he had once been against. Although Griffithe was anti-cannabis, the prospect of its legalization in Washington sparked an interest in the mind of a visionary entrepreneur. Griffithe immersed himself in research looking to understand the benefits and opportunities cannabis presented. Through his extensive research, Griffithe saw past the stigma to the health benefits of cannabis and vast business opportunity. Griffithe witnessed first-hand how medical marijuana allowed individuals with throat cancer to speak again in a matter of months. He even had surgery to remove skin cancer and used a cannabis topical cream to aid in his recovery. It was the discovery of the health benefits and business opportunity that brought Griffith the strength to continue.

Marijuana became legal in Washington in 2012 and Griffithe was one of the first 38 to receive a license. Griffithe teamed up with Robert Russell to build Green Acre Pharms, one of the most premier cannabis companies in Washington. Focused on both recreational and medical uses, Green Acre Pharms products are 100% organic with THC levels of at least 30%.

In 2015, The Green Rush hit Washington resulting in sales of $164 million in and around $60 million in tax revenue. Only a year later sales skyrocketed to $1.2 billion with roughly $400 million in tax revenue. Griffithe found himself right in the middle of it. Although these numbers are impressive, Griffithe foresees cannabis as one of the largest industries and becoming a standardized section.

As the true entrepreneur he is, Griffithe parlayed his success to revolutionize the film industry. In the last few years, Griffithe has formed alliances with several companies with the goal of driving the industry forward into the new technological era. He is bringing new technologies to Hollywood, partnering with Travis Cloyd to create an independent camera company called Techno Cams, which has all the equipment to film in 2D, 3D, Barco Escape format and Virtual Reality. They also created a post-production company, Vision Post, to provide new, state of the art post-production services to the entertainment marketplace.

In addition, Guy Griffithe is an Executive Producer, Actor, and the President of Bridgegate Pictures. He has financed and executive produced movies such as “The Recall” with Wesley Snipes, “The Humanity Bureau” with Nicolas Cage, “Distorted” with John Cusack and Christina Ricci, along with several more.

So how did Guy Griffithe go from being anti-marijuana to building one of the most premiere cannabis companies in Washington and revolutionizing the film industry? He did it with the same gritty determination and perseverance he had as a child. His success did not come without overcoming frequent hardships and obstacles along the way. Today, Griffithe’s extraordinary journey is far from over.