Cannabis Sponsors Chart New Territory at America’s Poker Runs

Cannabis dispensaries and brands are becoming increasingly visible sponsors at boating and motorcycle poker runs, a trend taking shape across legal states as marijuana businesses seek mainstream marketing opportunities.

One of the clearest examples comes from Michigan, where the Chain of Lakes Poker Run lists Vibe Quincy as a top-tier “Royal Flush Sponsor.” The recreational dispensary receives high-visibility branding throughout the water-based event, which draws boaters to multiple lakes and marinas over a full-day route. Similar moves are emerging in Saugatuck, where JARS Cannabis appears among the sponsors of the Venetian Festival’s popular dinghy poker run, sharing space with grocery stores, hardware shops, and marine businesses. The mixing of cannabis brands with long-established local sponsors underscores how normalized these partnerships are becoming in communities where adult-use cannabis is legal.

National marketing data reinforces the shift. SponsorUnited reported cannabis-category sponsorships rose more than 130% between 2020 and 2022, driven by brands seeking exposure through sports, entertainment, and lifestyle events rather than limiting themselves to cannabis-specific conventions. Events like the TeeHC Open golf tournament further demonstrate how cannabis sponsors are positioning themselves as community contributors rather than niche industry outliers.

The motorcycle world offers an early blueprint. Hemp American Media Group made headlines in 2016 when it struck the first known cannabis sponsorship deal with a professional motorcycle racer, backing MotoAmerica Superbike competitor Johnny Rock Page for an entire season. CBD brands subsequently expanded into motorsports, prompting organizers like MX Sports Pro Racing to clarify that CBD sponsors could participate in events such as Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, though with limitations tied to federal broadcast standards.

Those professional deals have paved the way for growing participation at grassroots charity rides. In various regions, cannabis retailers have begun appearing alongside Harley-Davidson dealerships, veteran motorcycle clubs, breweries, and small businesses on poker run sponsor lists. Event promoters say this aligns naturally with the demographic of most rides—adults 21 and older who enjoy outdoor recreation, road culture, and community fundraisers.

For cannabis brands, poker runs offer marketing value that is both lifestyle-driven and highly targeted. Sponsorship packages typically feature logo placement on event brochures, route maps, and scorecards; social media promotion; and on-site vendor opportunities at registration or final-stop gatherings. Organizers, meanwhile, benefit from additional financial support at a time when operating costs for charity events—fuel, insurance, staffing, marine or motorcycle permits—continue to climb.

Still, the industry’s growing presence comes with regulatory caution. States with legal cannabis maintain strict rules governing event advertising, including requirements that marketing does not target minors, appears only in 21-plus settings, and respects distance restrictions from schools and youth-oriented venues. Cases involving CBD sponsor restrictions in televised motorsports also illustrate how federal law continues to shape public-facing cannabis branding.

Despite these limitations, industry observers expect cannabis participation in poker runs and recreational rallies to rise over the next several years. As more states move toward legalization and local organizers seek new funding sources, cannabis companies are likely to appear more frequently on sponsor boards—whether at a marina, a lakeside concert stage, or the starting line of a motorcycle rally.

What began as a quiet shift is quickly becoming part of the sponsorship landscape: cannabis brands stepping into the same community roles once filled exclusively by taverns, marinas, and bike shops, and in doing so, signaling how far legalization has carried them into everyday American event culture.