Craig Gross is an entrepreneur and adult pastor who founded XXXChurch.comChristian Cannabis recently launched a new line of CBD-rich cannabis products.

High CBD, low-THC strains will be offered by the brand. The brand also educates Christians about cannabis and how it can help them spiritually. “Christian Cannabis wants to shine a light on a topic Christians are avoiding—their cannabis use—and invite them to explore it without fear, shame, or judgment,” the press announcement states.

Craig, not to be confused by Craig X who is a separate, cannabis-friendly pastor, believes there’s potential for spiritual connections with cannabis.

“There is, without a doubt, a spiritual side to plant medicine,” said Craig Gross. “There are long-held stigmas and doubts regarding its use, especially in the Christian community, and it’s preventing spiritual growth. It’s time we acknowledge that God created plant medicine and Christians should have access to quality, safety, cannabis products made just for them.”

Craig’s wife and Christian Cannabis Co-founder Jeanette Gross also released a statement, explaining that cannabis wasn’t on her radar until she was diagnosed with cancer. “I was faced with one of the most difficult situations of my life—trust plant medicine, which I always thought would alter my mind and make me feel out of touch with reality, or pharmaceutical drugs I knew would?” said Jeanette Gross, co-founder of Christian Cannabis. “I turned to cannabis and not only did it relieve my physical pain, it helped me open up spirituality. It provided me a way of coping with the depression, anxiety, and waves of emotions that accompany being diagnosed with cancer and it was key to my recovery after.”

Christian Cannabis has a logo that features a dove with a leaf and a cannabinoid while it is in flight. It will also offer pre-rolls. The products are said to contain biblical ingredients like myrrh and frankincense.

Craig announced the Christian Cannabis brand launch back in April 2019 at Coachella—the same year that both the religious holiday of Easter and 420 fell on the same day. The launch was announced by Craig in a YouTube clip. He describes his plans for the project. “My hope is to encourage people who follow Jesus and open our eyes to some misunderstandings that we have about this controversial plant,” he said in the video.

A June 2019 interview was conducted with DOPE MagazineHe went in great detail about his inspirations, the discovery of cannabis at the age 37, and his treatment for sex addiction. XXXChurch.comThe stigma surrounding cannabis use and Christianity. “For cannabis—the very first time I [consumed]It was 2013, so I wanted to discuss it. Everyone’s like, ‘Craig, if you talk about this now, you’ll lose everything you’ve built, and it’s not time,’” he shared.

“I came to cannabis in 2013 because it was the worst year of my life. I’m healthy, I’ve never broken a bone in my body, and [in 2013 I am sitting] in a situation where my dad had died, my wife was diagnosed with ovarian cysts, I didn’t know if I was grieving or not and I didn’t know how to deal with death. Then I started getting headaches, and then I start chasing doctors, and they just keep handing me more prescriptions,” Craig said. He admits that he skipped church one day to watch CNN’s Youed2013 documentary featuring Sanjay Gopta.

Craig has also spoken with the New York TimesHe wrote in December 2021 about the Northern California psychedelic-retreats that he had put together. During the pandemic, he shared that he and his family lived at a psychedelic retreat called “Rainbow Ridge” in Santa Cruz (valued at $1.3 million), where he was “offering 30 psilocybin retreats for a handful pf people at a time,” and he never charged participants. He has since sold the property and cashed out his retirement funds.

Christian Cannabis products are projected to release sometime in California and “additional states” in 2022, with plans to develop a CBD-only line that will eventually be available nationwide.