Canadian snowboarder seeks to cash in on Olympic marijuana controversy

Marijuana got Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati into trouble at the 1988 Nagano Olympics.

Now the 42-year-old wants to turn the cannabis plant into a different sort of gold.

Rebagliati has started a business called “Ross’ Gold,” which hopes to be involved with distributing medical marijuana in his country.

“We’re creating a brand that people can identify with, a brand that people can trust and a brand that people already know,” Rebagliati told the CBC this week.

Rebagliati won his event in Nagano, then had his medal taken away when testing revealed THC in his system. Officials subsequently restored the victory because the substance was not included on the International Olympic Committee’s banned list.

“From our standpoint of healthy lifestyle and sporting background of excellence – with my gold medal in Nagano – we feel that that’s going to be an attraction to people who are in the cannabis industry already and people who are new to it,” Rebagliati was quoted as saying.