Joe Exotic, the ‘Tiger King’, reportedly set to launch cannabis brand from prison

A new high profile figure is reportedly set to enter the cannabis industry: Joe Exotic.

The self-proclaimed ‘Tiger King’ shot to infamy after a Netflix series lifted the lid on his colourful lifestyle and criminal activities.

Exotic – whose legal name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage – is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence for trying to hire a hitman to kill animal rights campaigner Carole Baskin and a range of animal cruelty offences.

The former zoo operator became a well-known figure for his controversial collection of tigers, media appearances and attempts to run for political office.

Despite being incarcerated for the foreseeable future, Exotic reportedly wants to put his name to a cannabis product.

American celebrity gossip website TMZ claims deals have already been signed with manufacturers and the convicted felon has been ‘been directly involved in the biz through calls and emails with his attorney’.

According to TMZ, a share of the profits ‘will go towards captive tiger care’.

The range of products will reportedly include CBD edibles and be available in California, Colorado and Oklahoma.

Exotic was sentenced to 22 years in prison after a federal jury convicted him of two counts of murder-for-hire, eight counts of violating the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records, and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act.

According to court documents, he ‘repeatedly sought someone to murder Baskin in exchange for money, which led to his meeting with an undercover FBI agent on December 8, 2017’.

Court documents also confirm he ‘personally shot and killed five tigers in October 2017, without a veterinarian present and in violation of the Endangered Species Act’.