Celebrity involvement can bring attention and capital to cannabis businesses, but a recognizable name does not guarantee that investors will receive returns, control or timely information.
2021: The $1.5 Million Investment
In 2021, rapper 2 Chainz invested $1.5 million into Pineapple Express through his company, Antimatter Holdings — four stock purchases between January and March 2021 for 15,000 shares, a 15% stake in PNPLXPRESS, Inc., per the lawsuit he later filed. According to the complaint, the investment came with two important features:
Dividends tied to the store's net cash from operations
A put right to resell his stake at 110% of the purchase price after the first anniversary
These terms reportedly gave 2 Chainz the expectation that his money would generate returns while allowing him to exit if the business did not perform. The arrangement placed a significant amount of capital into a cannabis business that had yet to establish a storefront.
The Founders and the Flagship Pitch
Pineapple Express was founded by Vincent Zadeh (legal name Vincent Mehdizadeh) and Matthew Feinstein. At the time of the investment, the company had generated attention but did not yet have an operating storefront. According to the original account, the founders showed 2 Chainz renderings of a proposed flagship dispensary on Vine and Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles. The proposed location was presented as a major retail destination with the potential for substantial returns. The pitch reportedly included promises of a red-carpet grand opening by spring 2021. The renderings and projected opening helped establish the vision behind the investment. However, the opening did not happen on schedule.
The Opening Slips: February 2022
The planned opening did not happen by spring 2021. According to the original account, the project slipped nearly a year. Pineapple Express eventually opened its dispensary in February 2022 (some press coverage reported March 2022). By the time the store opened, 2 Chainz reportedly had not received any payments. The delay meant the original expectations surrounding the investment had already changed substantially. Instead of receiving the promised monthly payouts, the investor was left seeking answers about the agreement.
The Text Messages and the Disputed Agreement
The dispute played out partly over text. Per the complaint, on December 1, 2022, 2 Chainz texted Zadeh about the investment — and was told that put rights were no longer being honored. That exchange became a central part of the dispute: the disagreement was no longer simply about an opening date, but about the company's willingness to honor the agreement at all.
May 2022: The Attempt to Withdraw
On May 11, 2022, 2 Chainz exercised the put, seeking to resell $1.25 million of his stake at 110% (he retained $250,000 in a separate LLC). Per the complaint, the defendants responded with proposed repayment options structured as a 12-month schedule — and then failed to honor even that schedule. The attempt to recover his money did not produce the expected resolution. Meanwhile, the company's financial and administrative problems were becoming more visible.
Other Investors and the $1.69 Million IRS Liability
Pineapple Express was not facing questions from only one investor. According to the original account, other investors filed lawsuits involving unpaid taxes and questionable company filings. Coverage of those suits reported the allegation that the company had never filed income taxes while owing almost $1.69 million in back taxes. The caption identifies the parent company as Pineapple (PNPL), associated with @pineapple.pnpl. These issues added another dimension to the dispute. The concerns extended beyond delayed payments and the original dispensary opening. They involved the company's tax and filing history.
July 2024: The Dispensary Abruptly Closes
In July 2024, Pineapple Express abruptly shut down its dispensary. The closure marked another major setback for the business and its investors. The original account describes the shutdown as occurring after the company's prolonged financial and administrative problems. Weeks later, 2 Chainz took legal action.
The Lawsuit
Weeks after the July 2024 closure, 2 Chainz sued Pineapple Express for $10.65 million. The complaint (Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. 24STCV19452, filed August 2, 2024) brought eight claims:
Fraud
Negligent misrepresentation
Breach of contract
Unjust enrichment
Constructive trust
Unfair business practices
Breach of fiduciary duty
Theft under California Penal Code § 496(c)
Its prayer sought over $1.65 million in compensatory damages, over $4.5 million in punitive damages, and $4.5 million in treble damages on the theft count. Per the complaint, exactly one dividend was ever paid — in March 2022 — and none after. The complaint alleged that the company had a "pattern of defrauding investors." The allegation was significant because it framed the dispute as more than a disagreement over one investment. The lawsuit claimed a broader pattern of conduct involving investors. These were allegations made in the legal action, not findings established by the caption.
Pineapple Express Denies Wrongdoing
Pineapple Express denied wrongdoing. The company offered a different explanation for the dispensary's closure. In its own statement, the company blamed the shutdown on a court-ordered ownership restructuring that removed a social equity partner. The company also argued that 2 Chainz's claims belonged in private arbitration rather than being handled in court. This created a separate dispute over where and how the investment claims should be resolved.
November 15, 2024: The Dispensary Reopens
Pineapple Express reopened on November 15, 2024. However, reopening the business did not establish that the original investors had been repaid. The original account specifically states that investor payouts had not been confirmed. The reopening therefore left the central financial questions unresolved.
The Ownership Problem: A 15% Stake, No Real Control
One of the most important details concerns 2 Chainz's position within the company. Per the complaint, his $1.5 million bought a 15% stake in PNPLXPRESS, Inc., the entity holding the Hollywood & Vine dispensary. Despite holding that position, the caption says he had no meaningful control over the business. Three missing protections are specifically identified:
No board seats: he lacked a board position through which to exercise governance rights
No escrow: the investment lacked the escrow protection identified in the caption
No timelines: there were no clear timelines providing certainty around the company's obligations
The original account argues that these omissions left 2 Chainz boxed out of his own investment. His shareholder position did not necessarily translate into practical authority over the company's operations or financial decisions.
June 2025: Arbitration Remains Active
The original account provides an additional status update as of June 2025. At that point:
Arbitration remained active
No payout had been confirmed
There was no closure to the dispute
2 Chainz had not publicly commented
Pineapple PNPL said dividends would resume once sales stabilized
The parent company's statement specifically tied the resumption of dividends to sales reaching a more stable position. The caption uses the word: "stabilize." This update is important because it establishes that the dispute was still unresolved at the time of the original account's reporting. The dispensary had reopened, but the financial obligations and investor claims remained unsettled.
Legacy: A Celebrity Investment Without Meaningful Protection
The Pineapple Express story began with a $1.5 million investment in 2021 through Antimatter Holdings. Founders Vince Selfmade and Matthew Feinstein reportedly pitched a Vine and Hollywood Boulevard flagship dispensary with a red-carpet grand opening promised by spring 2021. The dispensary did not open until February 10, 2022. By then, 2 Chainz had reportedly received no payments. In May 2022, he exercised his put on $1.25 million of the stake; the company proposed a 12-month repayment schedule and then failed to honor it, and in December 2022 Zadeh told him by text that put rights were no longer being honored. Other investors subsequently pursued claims involving unpaid taxes and questionable filings, with almost $1.69 million in back taxes alleged. After the dispensary abruptly closed in July 2024, 2 Chainz sued in Los Angeles Superior Court — eight claims including fraud, breach of contract and statutory theft, seeking over $1.65 million compensatory, over $4.5 million punitive and $4.5 million in treble damages, and alleging a pattern of defrauding investors. Although the dispensary reopened November 15, 2024, investor payouts remained unconfirmed. As of June 2025, arbitration was active, no payout had been made, 2 Chainz had not publicly commented, and PNPL said dividends would resume once sales stabilize. The original account's central lesson is that being a major shareholder does not necessarily mean having meaningful protection or control.
Sources
nuggnotes (@nuggnotes). "2 Chainz vs. Pineapple Express: When Weed Investments Go Sideways." Instagram, July 11, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DL_Qj1PvFR5/
The original Instagram post behind this article.
Pineapple Express Antimatter Series I v. Vincent Mehdizadeh aka Vincent Zadeh et al. Complaint, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, Case No. 24STCV19452, filed August 2, 2024. https://assets.law360news.com/1867000/1867030/ca_sup_lax_24stcv19452_d67341193e332_complaint_complaint.pdf
The primary court document. It names the plaintiff as a series of Antimatter Holdings LLC and documents the deal in detail: four stock purchases between January 29 and March 17, 2021 totaling $1.5 million for 15,000 shares — 15% of PNPLXPRESS, Inc., the entity holding the Hollywood & Vine dispensary — with dividends set as a percentage of net cash from operations and a put right to resell at 110% within 30 days after the first anniversary. It states the store was promised open by April 2021, actually opened in February 2022, paid exactly one dividend (March 2022), and that the put was exercised May 11, 2022 on $1.25 million, after which the defendants proposed a 12-month repayment schedule and then failed to honor even that; on December 1, 2022, 2 Chainz texted Zadeh and was told put rights were no longer being honored. Its eight claims are fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, constructive trust, unfair business practices, breach of fiduciary duty, and theft under Penal Code § 496(c), and its prayer seeks over $1.65 million compensatory, over $4.5 million punitive, and $4.5 million in treble theft damages.
Pineapple Consolidated, Inc. "Pineapple Consolidated, Inc. Comments on Lawsuit by 2 Chainz." GlobeNewswire, August 12, 2024. https://www.globenewswire.com:443/news-release/2024/08/13/2928848/0/en/Pineapple-Consolidated-Inc-Comments-on-Lawsuit-by-2-Chainz.html
The company's own response: it confirms the suit followed the store's closure in the last week of July 2024, says management was working to resolve the dispute in private arbitration as the signed agreement allows, and attributes the August closure to a court-ordered ownership restructuring removing a social equity partner, with a relaunch planned for September 1. It also establishes the corporate structure — PCI is a 25% minority-owned asset of the public company trading as PNXP.
Pineapple Consolidated, Inc. "Pineapple Consolidated, Inc. Reopens Hollywood Dispensary." GlobeNewswire via Nasdaq, November 11, 2024. https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/pineapple-consolidated-inc-reopens-hollywood-dispensary-new-era-legal-cannabis-amidst
Confirms the caption's reopening date exactly: the flagship reopened effective Friday, November 15, 2024, after being closed since August, which the company here attributes to administrative processes while LA's Department of Cannabis Regulation reviewed and approved updates. A public relaunch event followed on November 23, 2024.
Pineapple Express Cannabis Company. "Pineapple Express Hollywood Dispensary Celebrates its 2-Year Anniversary Amidst Growing Pains." GlobeNewswire via Nasdaq, February 20, 2024. https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/pineapple-express-hollywood-dispensary-celebrates-its-2-year-anniversary-amidst
The company held the flagship's second-anniversary celebration on February 24, 2024 at the Hollywood & Vine location — supporting a February 2022 opening rather than the March 2022 date most press used. It also names Matthew Feinstein as CEO and Chairman of the public parent and Shawn Credle as PCI's CEO and President.
AfroTech. "2 Chainz Reportedly Sues A Los Angeles Cannabis Dispensary For Failing To Return His $1.5M Investment." AfroTech, August 14, 2024. https://AfroTech.com/2-chainz-sues-cannabis-company
Press summary of the filing (via SFGate and The Express Tribune): confirms the August 2, 2024 filing, the $1.5 million investment, ownership by Pineapple Ventures, Inc. and PNPLXPRESS, Inc., the December 2022 text exchange with co-founder Vincent Zadeh, and Feinstein's emailed denial that anything was owed, with the company's position that the matter belonged in arbitration. It repeats the secondary reporting that the store opened in March 2022.
LA Examiner. "2 Chainz Lost $1.5M After Investment in LA Cannabis Company." LA Examiner, August 29, 2024. https://laexaminer.com/2-chainz-lost-1-5m-after-investment-in-la-cannabis-company/
Law360-based coverage that carries the tax claim's provenance: it reports that other investors had previously sued the company, which was accused in those actions of never filing income taxes while owing almost $1.69 million in back taxes. This is the opened source closest to the caption's IRS/state-returns passage, and it presents the figure as an allegation from those other suits, not a documented IRS assessment against the public parent.
Justia Dockets. "George Hemingway v. Pineapple Consolidated Inc. et al." U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Case No. 2:2024cv11031, docket retrieved February 20, 2025. https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/cacdce/2:2024cv11031/952583
Documents that 2 Chainz was not the only investor plaintiff: George Hemingway sued essentially the same web of defendants (Mehdizadeh/Zadeh, Feinstein, Credle, Ortega, Rullo and the Pineapple entities) in Los Angeles Superior Court on September 9, 2024 (Case No. 24STCV23113), and the case was removed to federal court on December 23, 2024 as a RICO action. Clerk's defaults were entered against Feinstein, Credle, Ortega and Rullo on February 14, 2025.
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