The Political Money in Marijuana
Introduction: Make no mistake – the discussion and public policy surrounding marijuana is infected with money. Some just want to get high and support any legal scheme to make that easier. Law enforcement fights the availability of marijuana to protect the public. But there are yet others that have inserted themselves in this issue for the financial benefits.
Politicians: While some special interests are found almost exclusively on one side of the political spectrum, weed money is found on both sides …
John Boehner: The powerful former republican speaker of the house John Boehner has spent much of his time (and beltway knowhow) since leaving congress promoting the legalization of marijuana. Perhaps it merits mentioning that as a shareholder in a firm that has invested in marijuana, he would make about $20 million if marijuana was nationally legalized.[i]
Candice Gingrich: The sister of the former speaker Newt Gingrich is in the marijuana business. Her wife, Illinois legislator Kelly Cassity, was the lead sponsor of the marijuana legalization law in that state. Cassidy said it was “not a conflict” because the Candice got into the business after the law passed.[ii]
Nancy Pelosi’s Son: Current speaker Nancy Pelosi’s son is on the board of a medical marijuana company.[iii] There appears to be a recurring theme where relatives of powerful politicians get into the industry promoted by the lawmaker. Huh???
The Cole Memo Author: The Obama administration directed federal prosecutors to not use resources on federal marijuana violations if there was in compliance with state law pursuant to DOJ official Jim Cole’s directive (aka, The Cole Memo). Cole has now delivered a paid speech at a marijuana industry conference scolding the retraction of his memo.[iv]
The Influence of Big Tobacco: An investigation has found that several tobacco companies are funding “research” on medical marijuana.[v] Does anyone seriously believe that an industry that has made billions selling an addictive and deadly product is benevolently concerned about medical research?
What to do: All of the preceding facts are cited in a very profound book by Dr. Kevin Sabet titled, Smoke Screen: What the Marijuana Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know. Dr. Sabet focuses his effort fulltime on not letting marijuana become the next big tobacco or big pharma. His main point is that tobacco kills hundreds of thousands Americans every year, more than all other drugs combined. Clearly if given a choice, a parent would want a child to take a puff from a cigarette rather than one injection of heroin. But tobacco kills so many more than drugs not because it is individually safer, but tobacco use is so much more pervasive than drug use. These financial profiteers seek millions of habitual users of intoxicants – the more that use and the more frequently they do so, the more the profit. Here are links to Dr. Sabet’s book and his very informative website.
