Politics and Cannabis, does the lobby enters the industry

[Cannerald]

The lobby smells money?

Within the last 20 years there has never been a higher interest in Cannabis than nowadays, but why now and why does the lobby starts to push the industry suddenly? Do they want to make the world a better place or do they simply smell the money? 

There are many questions regarding this topic as since Coca Cola announced that they are interested in entering the market is is no longer a big secret that this industry will grow massivly within the next years and what does our lobby...no they won't just be at the sideline and watch.

I remember that 15 years ago no one really spoke about this topic or even thought about to buy cannabis stocks, the politics were mostly against it and declared it as a drug. Now let us jump back to the present time, my conservative dad owns cannabis stocks and talks about them with me, our politicians want to legalize cannabis quicker than the other countries it and push it thourgh all instances so qucik as it was never seen before, just because they want to make the world better with their actions...?

In my opinion this all happens as the big boys and our lobby knows there is a lot of money in this industry so they simple make everything they need to make sure they profit enough from it, or what is your opinion in this topic?

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[Moloch]

The main reason cannabis is illegal is because the pharmaceutical industry spends millions of dollars lobbying congress to keep it illegal... they don't want the competition

The problem for them is public opinion has changed about cannabis.  It is no longer considered some drug that turns you into a demon and makes black people rape white women (have you seen "Reefer Madness"?)

Cannabis as a medicine has really changed how people view the plant.  Parents with epileptic children were moving to Colorado because they had access to medicine which stops their kid's seizures.  It is heartbreaking to see other families who cannot afford to move to Colorado not get the medicine their children need.

I have seen polls showing as high as 94% of Americans support medical marijuana, and 60-70% support recreational marijuana

Everyone sees the tide has shifted and cannabis will soon be legal.  Anyone with power (money) will want to invest in it... people love the stuff, and it will make boatloads of money, provide jobs, etc

[Ladysmith]

They're not necessarily trying to make the world a better place, there's just too much money at stake for opportunists of all walks of life to ignore now that the laws have changed. The world's past present and future is decided by supply and demand. Always has been, always will be, and it doesn't always take people's well-being into consideration.

It will make the world a better place by default because it gives people an alternative to dangerous, highly addictive pharmaceuticals.

[Jimbable]

I'm in agreeing with person below - never expect government do something in the name of good will. Though i think that the decision was quite long awaited, because there is much more dangerous legal stuff around, like alcohol or cigs (which i smoke myself, and completely feel dependency). Cannabis on the other hand didn't strike me as awful as an drug, simply because you won't usually smoke too much of it, and behavior after it isn't dangerous or such (unlike after alcohol). So there is some sense in making it more legal even from humanistic approach, i'd say.

[Cannerald]

The main reason cannabis is illegal is because the pharmaceutical industry spends millions of dollars lobbying congress to keep it illegal... they don't want the competition

The problem for them is public opinion has changed about cannabis.  It is no longer considered some drug that turns you into a demon and makes black people rape white women (have you seen "Reefer Madness"?)

Cannabis as a medicine has really changed how people view the plant.  Parents with epileptic children were moving to Colorado because they had access to medicine which stops their kid's seizures.  It is heartbreaking to see other families who cannot afford to move to Colorado not get the medicine their children need.

I have seen polls showing as high as 94% of Americans support medical marijuana, and 60-70% support recreational marijuana

Everyone sees the tide has shifted and cannabis will soon be legal.  Anyone with power (money) will want to invest in it... people love the stuff, and it will make boatloads of money, provide jobs, etc

Right and here comes the point, did the lobby now change their mind cause they see that they can get more money if it is legal or do they just play? I mean the lobby can pretty much do whatever they want...
In my opinion they see that they can do a lot more money when if they legalize it, that is why they push it so hard which is on one side great for many people but on one point it all could change again as these people are selfish and do not care about my sick grandma or so.

Yes such stories are hearthbreaking i also got a story within my family which had nearly the same issue and the goverment just gave a sh... :/

94% is amazing i just hope that the lobby keeps it's drive and that not the big pharma boys step in and stop it all from happening as they just have so much power it is ridiculous!

But let's see how it all goes within the next 1-2 years!

[Cannerald]

They're not necessarily trying to make the world a better place, there's just too much money at stake for opportunists of all walks of life to ignore now that the laws have changed. The world's past present and future is decided by supply and demand. Always has been, always will be, and it doesn't always take people's well-being into consideration.

It will make the world a better place by default because it gives people an alternative to dangerous, highly addictive pharmaceuticals.

Yes i agree with you to 100%! Great point of view

[nahnah]

cannabis is one of the plants that has a million benefits, which if processed properly cannabis does not only function as a drug but is a lot of production or the result of cannabis plant derivatives such as glass, textiles and others,
I have read articles about textiles that use cannabis fiber and this textile has proven to be stronger and better quality,
and there is also in my country that was talked about about the Fidelis story which used extra cannabis as a medicine to alleviate the illness suffered by his wife, and proved to be efficacious, but Fidelis was arrested and imprisoned for using cannabis as a drug for cannabis including class 1 drugs ,
https://regional.kompas.com/read/2017/07/24/07120771/ini-isi-nota-pembelaan-fidelis-yang-membuat-haru-pengunjung-sidang?page=all

this is certainly a real example if cannabis is a plant that has a million benefits, and can help the economy in countries that legalize cannabis,

[byteball]

Nobody mentions that Monstanto has GMO Cannabis, where euphoria still results from consumption,
but not anti-cancer and not political awareness effects of it's use.
Some even say that it plainly dumbs people down rather than "turning them on".
And this GMO Cannabis has a chance to replace the real one, gradually.

[Beerwizzard]

There are many questions regarding this topic as since Coca Cola announced that they are interested in entering the market is is no longer a big secret that this industry will grow massivly within the next years and what does our lobby...no they won't just be at the sideline and watch.

I'm just curious but how do you expect the cannabis market to grow? More people gonna start smoking weed or already existing smokers would consume more marijuana? Just imho but people that are not taking any kind of drugs (including weed) not gonna start doing it if it becomes legal.

In my opinion this all happens as the big boys and our lobby knows there is a lot of money in this industry so they simple make everything they need to make sure they profit enough from it, or what is your opinion in this topic?

Nah, money is not the main thing here.
Cannabis legalization is a totally political move. That's one of the most mainstream points for leftist liberals and politicians (mostly democrats) are getting more political power from it. It is always easier to pick some obvious problem like marijuana decriminalization instead of something serious.

[squatz1]

Here's the thing that I think we need to think about when we're talking about something like this. Is it possible that businesses can make money and the world can become a better place due to this -- I think yes.

I think that if the Pharma industry decides that there's nothing they can do but allow the floodgates to open in the marijuana industry (both recreational, and medically) and they start to open dispensaries, growing areas, processing plants, manufacturing operations, and so on then we're going to have a massive flow of legal marijuana. I think this is something that can make the pharma industry a good deal of money; it can also make the towns, cities, states a good deal of money towards tax revenue (that they hopefully use on a good cause)

Plus, it will also help people to have this legalized. So in my mind, business and greed can coexist with people being happy.