Papa & Barkley: The Cannabis Wellness Brand That Started With a Family Story
Some cannabis brands begin with a strain, a cultivation technique, or an opportunity in the market. Papa & Barkley began with a son trying to help his father get out of bed.
That deeply personal beginning shaped nearly everything that followed. Instead of approaching cannabis as a lifestyle accessory or chasing the highest possible potency, Papa & Barkley built its identity around a more practical question: How can the plant help people feel more comfortable in their everyday lives?
The answer started with a homemade topical balm. It eventually grew into one of California’s most recognizable cannabis wellness brands, with a lineup spanning balms, body oils, tinctures, capsules, patches, gummies, and other carefully formulated products.
In the process, Papa & Barkley helped broaden the way cannabis wellness could look. It could be approachable without feeling watered down, sophisticated without becoming clinical, and grounded in real plant medicine without relying on the traditional imagery or language of cannabis culture.
A Brand Born From a Family Emergency
The Papa & Barkley story begins with co-founder Adam Grossman and his father.
In 2014, Grossman’s father was suffering from severe back pain related to spinal stenosis. Conventional medications were not providing enough relief, and his condition eventually became serious enough that he was placed in at-home hospice care.
Looking for another option, Grossman researched cannabis-infused topical formulas and began experimenting himself. Using a slow cooker, coconut oil, cannabis, and a recipe he had found during his research, he created a balm and applied it to his father’s back.
According to Grossman, the experience was transformative. His father was able to move more comfortably and eventually leave hospice care. What began as a desperate act of caregiving became the foundation for a company.
The name preserved that original story. Grossman’s father was known as “Papa” by his grandchildren, while Barkley was the rescued pit bull who rarely left his side. Rather than inventing a sleek wellness name in a branding session, Grossman named the company after the two figures at the center of the experience.
That history gives Papa & Barkley something many wellness brands spend years trying to manufacture: a credible reason for existing.
Adam Grossman and Guy Rocourt
While Grossman provided the founding experience and mission, Papa & Barkley’s development into a serious cannabis company also relied on the experience of co-founder Guy Rocourt.
Rocourt entered the cannabis industry through advocacy and patient care. His background included working with television personality and medical cannabis advocate Montel Williams, who publicly used cannabis while managing symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis. Rocourt later developed experience designing products, building manufacturing facilities, and navigating the increasingly regulated cannabis industry.
The partnership brought together two complementary perspectives.
Grossman understood the emotional reason behind the product: a caregiver searching for something that might help someone he loved.
Rocourt understood how to translate that experience into formulations and manufacturing systems that could be reproduced safely and consistently at scale.
That combination mattered. Cannabis wellness products need more than a compelling origin story. Consumers are applying them to their bodies, measuring them by the dropper, or incorporating them into nightly routines. Trust depends on ingredients, formulation, consistency, testing, and clear instructions, not simply attractive packaging.
Papa & Barkley helped establish a version of cannabis wellness in which the production process became part of the brand story.
Keeping the Whole Plant in the Picture
One of Papa & Barkley’s defining principles is its preference for whole-plant, solventless infusion.
Many cannabis products begin by isolating or refining selected cannabinoids. Papa & Barkley instead emphasizes formulations intended to retain a wider spectrum of the plant’s naturally occurring cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds.
For many of its infused wellness products, the company describes a lipid infusion process in which cannabis is soaked directly into oils. The method uses heat rather than chemical solvents to transfer plant compounds into a carrier such as coconut-derived oil.
Papa & Barkley says it sources sun-grown cannabis from farming partners and has historically worked with producers throughout Northern California’s Emerald Triangle. Its stated approach favors regenerative practices, organic cultivation principles, hand harvesting, and slower curing methods.
“Solventless” has since become a familiar word across California cannabis, especially in the concentrate category. Papa & Barkley was among the brands that helped make the idea relevant beyond hash and rosin.
For the brand, solventless production was not only about appealing to concentrate enthusiasts. It supported a broader clean-label philosophy: recognizable ingredients, minimal processing, and formulations that remained visibly connected to the plant from which they originated.
This approach became especially important as cannabis wellness expanded. Consumers who might have been hesitant to smoke flower or use a high-potency edible could understand a balm made from cannabis, coconut oil, beeswax, essential oils, and vitamin E.
The formula felt less like an unfamiliar cannabis product and more like something that could fit naturally beside the other items in a bathroom cabinet or recovery bag.
The Releaf Balm That Started It All
Papa & Barkley’s Releaf Balm remains the clearest expression of the brand’s original purpose.
The balm combines full-spectrum cannabis infusion with ingredients such as coconut oil, beeswax, vitamin E, eucalyptus, tea tree, peppermint, and lavender oils. It is designed to be applied directly to targeted areas of the body as part of a recovery or comfort routine.
The product also helped introduce a different kind of cannabis consumer.
A person did not necessarily need to identify as a smoker, an edible fan, or even a traditional cannabis enthusiast to understand why someone might massage a plant-infused balm onto tired shoulders after work. That familiarity helped lower one of the most persistent barriers around cannabis: uncertainty about how it would feel and how it would fit into daily life.
Standard cannabis topicals are generally used locally and are not intended to create the same intoxicating experience associated with smoking or ingesting THC. Transdermal patches are different because they are formulated to deliver cannabinoids through the skin and into the bloodstream, meaning their effects and dosing should be considered more carefully.
That distinction is part of responsible cannabis wellness. Product format matters just as much as the cannabinoid number printed on the package.
Building a Complete Wellness System
Papa & Barkley did not remain a topical company.
Its Releaf collection developed into a broader system that lets consumers choose a format based on their routine, preferred cannabinoid ratio, and desired experience.
Balms, Sticks, and Body Oils
Topicals remain at the heart of the brand. Releaf balms, active balm sticks, and body oils are designed for targeted application, massage, post-workout recovery, and everyday body care.
The formats vary in texture and convenience. A balm provides a richer, more concentrated application, while a stick makes it easier to apply a topical without getting it on the hands. Body oil can cover larger areas and fit naturally into massage, bathing, or nighttime routines.
Tinctures
Releaf tinctures offer measured servings in a dropper format. They are available in different cannabinoid ratios, allowing consumers to explore formulations that place different emphasis on THC, CBD, or additional cannabinoids.
Tinctures can be useful for people who want more control over serving size than they might have with a fixed-dose edible. Effects can still vary considerably by person, however, and new consumers should begin conservatively.
Capsules
Capsules translate the brand’s infused oils into a familiar format with a predetermined amount per serving. They eliminate the measuring involved with a tincture and can fit easily into an established supplement or wellness routine.
The tradeoff is less flexibility. A capsule provides a fixed amount, so understanding the cannabinoid ratio and labeled serving is especially important before taking it.
Patches
Papa & Barkley’s patches offer a longer-format option designed to release cannabinoids gradually through the skin. Unlike a conventional topical balm, a transdermal patch may produce systemic effects because cannabinoids can enter the bloodstream.
Consumers should therefore treat a THC-containing patch with the same care they would use with another ingestible or psychoactive cannabis product.
Gummies and Sleep Formulations
The brand has also expanded into gummies, including products that incorporate CBD, THC, or CBN. CBN has become particularly common in cannabis products marketed for nighttime use, although research into individual cannabinoids and sleep remains an evolving field.
These products give Papa & Barkley a place in the increasingly crowded cannabis sleep and relaxation category while maintaining the brand’s focus on measured, repeatable routines.
Cannabis affects everyone differently, and wellness products should not be treated as substitutes for professional medical advice. Consumers who take medications, manage a health condition, or have questions about cannabinoid interactions should speak with a qualified healthcare professional.
Making Cannabis Feel Like Wellness
Papa & Barkley’s larger contribution cannot be reduced to one balm or tincture.
The company helped change the visual and cultural language surrounding cannabis.
Its products did not look like novelty items, counterculture souvenirs, or pharmaceutical imitations. The brand positioned cannabis alongside massage, sleep routines, fitness recovery, skincare, and other familiar forms of personal care.
This was an important shift. Cannabis wellness did not need to reject cannabis culture, but it also did not need to rely on it. A product could respect the plant while speaking to someone who had never walked into a dispensary before.
Papa & Barkley also made cannabinoid ratios easier to understand as practical product choices. Instead of treating THC percentage as the only meaningful number, its lineup encouraged consumers to consider how CBD, THC, CBN, application method, serving size, and personal routine could shape an experience.
That framework has since become common throughout the wellness category. It was far less established when Papa & Barkley began.
A New Chapter for the Brand
In September 2024, Papa & Barkley was acquired by Mammoth Distribution, the California company connected to brands including Heavy Hitters and Almora. The companies described the move as an opportunity to strengthen distribution, improve retail relationships, and support broader expansion.
Acquisitions can create understandable concern for longtime consumers, especially when a brand was founded on such a personal story. The challenge for Papa & Barkley’s next chapter will be preserving the trust, formulation standards, and plant-centered philosophy that built its reputation while expanding its reach.
The origin of the company still provides a useful standard against which future decisions can be measured. Papa & Barkley was created to help a real person with a real need. Maintaining that sense of purpose will matter more than simply adding new formats or gaining additional shelf space.
Why Tropicanna Carries Papa & Barkley
Tropicanna carries Papa & Barkley because cannabis consumers do not all approach the plant in the same way.
Some are interested in flower genetics or solventless concentrates. Others are searching for products that can fit into recovery, sleep, relaxation, or daily self-care routines. Many are curious about cannabis but would prefer not to smoke or begin with a conventional edible.
Papa & Barkley gives those customers a thoughtful place to start without limiting the experience to beginner-level products. Its range of ratios and formats offers enough flexibility for experienced consumers while remaining approachable for someone exploring cannabis wellness for the first time.
The brand also reflects values that matter in a mature cannabis market: clear product purpose, intentional formulation, whole-plant ingredients, measured servings, and respect for the farming and manufacturing processes behind the finished product.
Most importantly, Papa & Barkley helped show that cannabis wellness could be personal without becoming vague, premium without becoming inaccessible, and modern without losing its connection to the plant.
What began in a slow cooker as one son’s attempt to help his father became a larger argument for a more thoughtful kind of cannabis company.
Customers can explore Papa & Barkley’s full wellness lineup at Tropicanna in Santa Ana and speak with our team about the differences between its topicals, tinctures, capsules, patches, and gummies.
