Weed Empire is a wild, fast-paced read that offers a front-row seat to the chaos, ambition, and controversy behind the rise of the legal cannabis industry. Adam Bierman doesn’t hold back—his storytelling is bold, brash, and unapologetically self-assured, which makes the book both entertaining and, at times, jaw-dropping.

While I didn’t always agree with his approach or perspective, I found it fascinating to see how much hustle, risk-taking, and ego went into building one of the first major cannabis empires in the U.S. The book reads like a mix of business memoir and true crime, with corporate battles, legal skirmishes, and behind-the-scenes drama that kept me turning pages.

It’s not a humble reflection, but it is a revealing one—and if you’re curious about the messy, unfiltered truth of cannabis capitalism, this book delivers.

Weed Empire, read by the author, Adam Bierman, was a good story that tells the tale of how Adam became one of the leaders in the medical cannabis industry. I appreciated his strategy in getting his business off the ground and the challenges he faced. I found the topic interesting and felt he did a good job of representing how hard it was to get into the field, especially when there was so much demonization surrounding the industry.

Listening to this as an audiobook, I have to say that the author and narrator, Adam Bierman, definitely has a talent for sales, or at least, he knows how to pitch a story. This skill reflects well in his narration: when Adam was discussing routine business matters, the tone and pacing were fairly neutral, but whenever the story took a twist, mood and intonation swirled accompanying the change. This reading definitely deserves credit.
Unfortunately, beyond the narration, the book didn’t offer much else for me. It was interesting in the very beginning, when Adam explains how he happened to begin with his weed business, but it quickly devolved into a string of endless business hustles. The story became a repetitive cycle of seeking funding, chasing clients, lobbying interests, and attempting rapid expansion. Within just a few years, Adam went through numerous partners and investors, creating a flood of names, companies, and locations that became difficult to follow. Somewhere at the middle of the book, I completely lost track of his operations and more importantly, my interest in them.
And while it’s one thing for the business journey to feel flat, what really pushed me away was Adam himself, as he came across as deeply unlikable. His intense focus on business led him to neglect his family, even blaming them for wanting to spend time with him. He seemed obsessed with earning the approval of his abusive father. In general, throughout the story, his behavior was very selfish and arrogant, and the more I listened, the less I wanted to keep going.
So… I didn’t. I stopped before the end. I don’t know if Adam eventually reflects on his mistakes or changes his ways, but I hope he does, because the nice thing about not finishing a book is that I get to imagine my own, hopefully better, ending.

Weed Empire by Adam Bierman
Audio Version
Overall Grade: B-
Information: C
Writing/Organization: C
Narration: B
Best Aspect: Interesting information about the business of marijuana and battling the government in regards to it.
Worst Aspect: Very long winded in many sections, very arrogant and crass when it truly did not need to be, made it childish.
Recommend: Maybe.
Available 4/22/25

Weed Empire offers a behind-the-scenes look at the rise of the legal cannabis industry, which I found interesting in concept—but the execution didn’t totally land for me. The audiobook felt a bit long and overly wordy at times, which made it hard to stay fully engaged.

Adam Bierman’s personality also came across as a bit off-putting in parts. While his confidence is clear, it occasionally bordered on arrogance, which made it tough to connect with his story.

Overall, it has some fascinating insights, but I wish it had been a little more concise and balanced in tone.

I am thankful to have gotten the ALC from Brilliance audio for free from Netgalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

I thought this book was interesting. A lot of things I didn't know about the cannabis industry. Very informative, I wish these was more person connection, especially with the author narrating the audiobook. Adam seems to be a bit arrogant and off-putting at times, but I think that's how he got to where he is. I would recommend this book to friends.

Weed Empire
Publishes April 22, 2025

Weed Empire: How I Battled Gangsters, Investment Banks, and the Department of Justice to Build the Cannabis Industry in America by Adam Bierman, Narrated by Adam Bierman. This was absolutely fascinating and I learned so much that I didn’t know about the cannabis industry in America. Adam the cofounder of MedMen tells his story about how he didn’t start out with a plan to sell weed or even developing the network of cannabis stores he did. He also didn’t ever think he would have to face gangsters, hide his money in shoeboxes or take on public markets and the biggest hurdle the justice system.
MedMen, Americas first “cannabis unicorn” as well as it being the first globally recognized cannabis brand. The kid from the suburbs who joined the cannabis scene who helped reimagine weed for the mainstream, one who jumped at the chance to help with conversations about legalizing marijuana.
I really enjoyed this book and learned alot about the struggles and just how much money and effort and lobbying it took to expand cannabis in America. I do think it was strange that Adam still wanted his father’s approval despite all the nasty things he would say to his mother. I also didn’t like that Adam screamed and kicked his wife out of a car when she asked for help and for him to be present with the kids. Ive seen to many people who didn’t have parents active in their lives and you can really tell a difference in the type of person they become later in life. While arrogant at times, Adam for sure wouldn’t be where he is today.

Thank you Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing for the ALC audiobook. This review is voluntary and all my own words.

Thank for a review copy of this book!

This booked peeked my curiosity, but it didn’t hold it. I enjoyed the narrator and their enthusiasm about sharing their story and it was interesting at times.

It lost me quite a few times as I found it didn’t keep my attention like I wanted it too. This book was political which the title eludes too, but I wasn’t invested due to the lack of personal connection from the story teller.

⭐️⭐️.5

I’ve got mixed feelings about this book, as a person Adam Bierman is quite unlikeable but as the book progresses it does get interesting.
The founding is chaotic and its demise is unsurprising when reading Adam’s account, perhaps I missed it but I don’t think Med Men was ever profitable and was just steaming ahead with raising capital.

I found it strange when Adam’s dad called his mum a c##t and his wife a lazy bitch but Adam still craves his approval but I guess an interesting character trait.

I kept waiting for Adam to tell us he’d seen the error of his ways when he screamed at his wife and kicked their car when she asked for help whilst she breast fed their baby and their toddler’s nappy exploded or she asked him to be more present in their young family and he screamed at her for loving the luxurious lifestyle he provided.
It also felt like an odd admission when he told us about the ladies car he smashed up because she blocked him in, if these are the behaviours he sees as normal and acceptable then I’d hate to know what he doesn’t.

The beginning is slow going and doesn’t really get interesting until his first big proper investment and his writing style sometimes felt more fiction than autobiographical but still fine to read.

He takes no accountability for the demise of Med Men and doesn’t look back and tell us what he’d do differently or what he strives to do in the future but an interesting read all the same.

Bierman tells his story of rising from the bottom to the top of the legal weed industry. MedMen took it to a new level, making legal weed fancy and stepping up the game in customer service and marketing.

The story was a quick read, but something about his personality was hard to like - a bit abrasive and arrogant - but I bet it probably helped him get to where he is today.