Something that has always bothered me, and that I’ve always been very vocal about, is that too many marijuana business owners and executives don’t do enough to support marijuana reform. They make large sums of money, but when they are asked to donate to the cause they act like they don’t have a dime to their name. Why is that? I’ve always pointed out that marijuana businesses should support reform in any way that they can mainly because it’s the right thing to do. And if being noble doesn’t fit into someone’s business plan, they should at least realize out of some form of self preservation that they should fight to protect marijuana freedoms which translates to marijuana sales and marijuana related product sales. Yet, so many owners just sit back and think the good times will always be rolling, and act like ‘why didn’t anyone do anything’ when public policy changes damage their bottom line.
If you are a marijuana business owner or executive, ask yourself ‘what have I done to support marijuana reform, and could I have done more?’ Be honest with yourself. Yeah, you can play it off to other people in the press or in public that you are some kind of dedicated freedom fighter, but deep down you know if you are really fighting the good fight or not. If you truly support marijuana reform, it will show and you will be rewarded. But if you are fake about it, or refuse to support reform because you are greedy, I hope that every consumer in the industry boycotts your product/service/establishment.
Ethan Nadelmann called out the marijuana industry recently at a marijuana industry event:
Nadelmann calling out the #marijuana industry for not contributing very much to the Oregon legalization push this year. #mjbizcon
— Marijuana Biz Daily (@MJBizDaily) November 13, 2014
The marijuana reform movement makes more than enough money that we should be funding campaigns and lobbyists in every state ourselves. We shouldn’t have to rely on donations from rich people that don’t even own marijuana businesses. There’s just simply no excuse. Now, I get that not all marijuana businesses make large sums of money. I have been running this blog for almost five years now, and if I were to calculate the amount of money I’ve put in to this endeavor versus the profits that have hit my pocket, I’d definitely be in the red. You have to get it to give it, I definitely get that. But if you are a marijuana company that makes significant amounts of money, I ask you, how are you giving back to the movement? If you aren’t, what the f is your problem? Why do you not have the basic brain power to put two and two together that you should support reform efforts, if for any reason to protect your bottom line? 280e reform isn’t going to happen by itself. Asset forfeiture reform is going to happen by itself. I’m sick and tired of this ‘I got mine, so the hell with yours’ attitude that is way too prevalent in the marijuana industry.
