As more big business movers and shakers appear to be ratcheting up their incursions into the cannabis industry, industry advocates are stepping up their defense. In March, the U.S. saw the creation of a federal lobbying group – the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation – with the goal of advancing a federal regulatory framework for cannabis, and including members from both the tobacco and alcohol industry. Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance issued a follow-up statement that same month: “We have long been concerned about the entry of large commercial interests into the legal marijuana market. Big Alcohol and Tobacco have an abysmal track record of using predatory tactics to sell their products and build their brands – often targeting low-income communities of color and fighting public health regulations that would protect people. It is predictable, but reprehensible, that industries that have allowed the arbitrary distinction between licit and illicit drugs to stand for so long now want to end a form of prohibition in order to bolster their bottom line.” Ironically, the cannabis industry is facing its own big-time moment. The cannabis legalization bill, The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, currently being discussed in Congress shows that the industry has reached the status of a big business by virtue of its accelerating sales and continued growth across the country, and identifies certain restrictions that some interpret as worrisome to any of the cannabis companies that have partnerships with Big Alcohol and Big Tobacco. How that will pan out is still to be determined.
420 Intel – Marijuana Industry News, 12/22/2021 19:00:00