Noble cannabis lounge owner looks to build up worldwide brand, community bridges

Jul. 17—Entrepreneur Carlos Dew looks to establish a community-oriented atmosphere at his cannabis lounge, where patients can not only purchase, but consume their medicine when it opens next month in Noble.

Dew, a California native, decided to enter the cannabis industry in 2015 after managing professional athletes. He's now the CEO of superbad inc., a cannabis brand he described as driven by "technology, strong innovation and cutting edge" that has established a presence from California to Germany in just four years.

With the help of partners and fellow cannabis enthusiasts Henry Miller and former NBA player Cedric Ceballos, Dew said he's ready to simultaneously build his brand and bridges in the local community when the dispensary, superbad inc. premium dispensary, with a separate lounge next door opens August 6.

"Oklahoma has a great cannabis community, and it's an up and rising state in the industry," Dew said.

Dew said the inspiration behind the name comes from modern lingo. "Superbad" means someone or something is attractive or of considerably high quality.

"Superbad is universal, because it [applies] to all genders and all walks of life," Dew said.

He said the name is deliberately lowercase to be interpreted as a whisper.

When Dew purchased the property, he took over the Hilltop Hideaway, a bar connected to the dispensary suite. Those looking for a place to responsibly consume their medicine among other patients can lounge in a designated area, which will be walled off to ensure compliance with state laws.

Future customers can expect a selection of premium flower cultivated by Element Reserve, superbad's strategic partner, as well as concentrates and other medical marijuana products.

Miller and Dew said they hope the lounge will be a setting where a patient can stop by on gameday and watch the OU game or partake in a game of pool, darts or disc frisbee in the back. Video game tournaments for Madden and Mortal Kombat are also a part of future plans.

Dew, Ceballos and Miller also plan to facilitate sports camps for the youth as part of that effort.

"We have NFL and NBA players that are going to do basketball and football camps here, starting with Ceballos," Miller said. "[Ceballos] and [Dew] are creating the opportunity to give back and help make sure kids have the proper equipment and everything that they need and we want to be a part of the community like that."

Dew emphasized his intent to give back to the community that so far, has been a blessing.

"They've welcomed us with open arms, so we want to be able to build bridges in the community," Dew said.

Plans for opening day on August 6 are still in the works, but Dew said he is looking at having local food trucks and games as part of the celebration.

Jeff Elkins covers business, living and community stories for The Transcript. Reach him at jelkins@normantranscript.com or at @JeffElkins12 on Twitter.