Cannabis: The Charitable Cash Crop

There are moves afoot to assimilate cannabis into the mainstream. That is, there is a campaign to Legalize cannabis in California (you know, in the United States). The proposal, which should go to vote in October or November may see cannabis legalized, regulated and taxed in that state.

Now, I have nothing against that. Anything that can help validate cannabis as a medicine is a good thing by me. Full legalization is one of those steps. However, I also would like the freedom to grow my own without being regulated.

Stephen DeAngelo argues that we as a society have a chance to turn the emerging commercial canaabis industry into an example to the world of how business can benefit the needy and less fortunate in the world.

So, what will the legal marijuana business in America come to look like? Something big and corporate? Something along the lines of Pepsi, RJ Reynolds, Starbucks, Pfizer, or Budweiser companies that market similar kinds of products??? Big profits, huge advertising budgets and lots of political cash….OR…should legal marijuana be something very different?

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…right now, we have the opportunity to create a different cannabis delivery system that isn’t just about the performance on the quarterly bottom line, like it is in the ‘Pepsi’ paradigm, we can create a system that serves the public while at the same time it provides community service…something more along the business lines of Newman’s Own Salad Dressings from whose revenues have come donations of almost $300 million to charities…

George Rohrbacher (on NORMLs Board of Directors) discusses this and other issues on 'Opposing Views'.