Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon visits Orland Hills dispensary to launch Mac 9 cannabis strain
Wearing dark sunglasses and a brand T-shirt, former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon met with fans and signed autographs Thursday at Stash Dispensary in Orland Hills.
McMahon, who played for the Chicago Bears for seven years including in 1985, the team won the Super Bowl, was at the dispensary to launch Mac 9 by Revenant, a cannabis brand he cofounded with NFL players Kyle Turley, who retired with the Kansas City Chiefs, and Eben Britton, who retired with the Chicago Bears.
They established Revenant four years ago, McMahon said, and the Mac 9, an Indica cannabis strain, has launched in Illinois in honor of McMahon and his jersey number.
“I was trying to get into the business for the longest time,” McMahon said.
He said Turley, who started the brand Revenant, called him and shared a vision of creating a cannabis brand to help former players and former military personnel.
“I said ‘That’s what I want to get involved in,’” McMahon recalled.
McMahon said he underwent 12 knee surgeries, six shoulder surgeries, elbow surgery and sustained kidney and sternum injuries throughout his 15 season NFL career, which left him taking opioids to kill the pain.
But after discovering that cannabis, specifically Indica strains, helped him with the pain, McMahon said he’s since preferred it over pain killers.
“I use it to just get through the day. It got me off the pain killers. I can actually get through the day, functioning fairly normal and actually remembering things now,” McMahon said. “I was in a fog for years with those painkillers. There’s a lot of stuff I don’t remember, a lot of games I don’t even remember.”
Revenant’s Mac 9 comes in flower, pre-rolls and vape cartridges, but McMahon said he encourages anyone interested in trying cannabis to try different strains to find the right one for their needs.
“You’ll know right away when you try a specific strain whether or not your body will like it,” he said.
McMahon said Illinois is the 12th state to sell Revenant products, and the goal is to sell the product in all 37 states where cannabis is legal.
In the last two weeks, McMahon said he’s traveled to different dispensaries in Illinois to launch Mac 9 and meet with fans. The most fun events, he said, are the dispensaries with consumption lounges.
“It’s always nice to hang out and fire one up with the fans,” McMahon said.
Jojo Plascencia, 25, of Evergreen Park, said his dad has been a dedicated Chicago Bears fan his whole life, so he’d heard about McMahon growing up. After reading more about McMahon’s career, Plascencia said he wanted to come meet him.
Plascencia said he bought Mac 9 and said the bud and color quality looked good.
McMahon signed a T-shirt for Plascencia, and they had a brief discussion about the benefits of cannabis and how it has helped McMahon following his surgeries, Plascencia said.
“He’s a super cool guy. He’s super humble,” Plascencia said.
McMahon also visited dispensaries Thursday in Skokie and Aurora.
Upcoming visits are 2-4 p.m. Friday at Curaleaf, 11425 S. Harlem Ave., Worth; 7-8 p.m. Friday at OKAY Cannabis Dispensary, 781 N. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling; 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Ivy Hall, 1720 N. Damen Ave., Chicago; and 2-4 p.m. Saturday at Vertical Dispensary, 20 Northwest Highway, Cary.
