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Now that there are some people who are surely becoming considerably rich from the sale of cannabis in the US, it's strange that they aren't pushing for this kin

Now that there are some people who are surely becoming considerably rich from the sale of cannabis in the US, it's strange that they aren't pushing for this kind of research to be allowed - i.e. out-lobbying the anti-cannabis lobby. Is there really still that much money going against legalisation? Are the people who have been getting rich just not politically savvy enough yet? This seems unlikely because it's not like they are the original black market dealers turned legit. The cannabis market has been mostly captured by "respectable" white people with access to big money and business accumen who were smart enough to get ahead in what will be a very lucrative market.

JumpCrisscross 9y ago
> Is there really still that much money going against legalisation? In New York State it's the alcohol lobby.
bastawhiz 9y ago
It makes sense to do what they're doing right now: get legalization done at the state level. If the federal government lifted restrictions tomorrow, state-level prohibition still applies in 21 states. 21 of the 29 states where marijuana is legal are medical-only. If you legalize it at the state level, you create a new market. Nobody is shipping weed in--crossing state lines with marijuana is, as it turns out, frowned upon--so you've got a total (pardon the pun) green field opportunity. There's no incumbent businesses to compete with. If weed was legalized by the federal government tomorrow, most of the remaining cannabis prohibition laws at the state level would fall away in a few months' time. You could then ship weed across state lines, though, which would mean that large California and Colorado growers would begin pumping weed into these new markets far faster than a fresh startup ever could. If you're someone with money, it makes FAR more sense to lobby at the state level rather than the federal level. And they are, seeing as more than half of the country has some form of legal weed.
- deleted 9y ago
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chepaslaaa 9y ago
The people that produce it right now don't want more competition. It's real easy to grow pot.
lacker 9y ago
Now that California has legalized recreational marijuana, research into medical marijuana is nearly pointless from a capitalist point of view. The endgame isn't anything to do with medical marijuana at all. It's that recreational marijuana steadily advances across the country. Whoever wins the California recreational market will have the advantage in that game.
Clubber 9y ago
The FOP (Fraternal Order of Police) is a very, very powerful union. Up there with the NRA in terms of political power. Because the FOP as an organization typically endorses the GOP, they were spared all the anti-union rhetoric over the past 40 years. While workers' unions crumbled, the FOP grew in power. Of course they are for the drug war, because that's the majority of what they do. It justifies their existence. Pot is the largest drug seized (by far), so for them, it's an existential fight.
- kiliantics 9y ago
  Yeah, I realise there are a lot of strong lobbies against legalisation, it's just surprising that they are still winning in the face of so much profit. On the topic of FOP though, I think they are spared anti-union practices because they do not pose the typical threat to entrenched power structures which conventional unions do. They in fact reinforce it and protect the interests of the ruling class, so of course the government supports them. The FOP is one of the worst players out there. There is a horrifying statistic that over 40% of police officers are known to be domestic abusers[0] and yet the FOP has fought for such criminals to maintain the right to have weapons and to give them positions of authority and the power to use force on others in society. Truly monstrous. [0] http://womenandpolicing.com/violencefs.asp http://womenandpolicing.com/violencefs.asp

JumpCrisscross 9y ago

> Is there really still that much money going against legalisation? In New York State it's the alcohol lobby.

bastawhiz 9y ago

It makes sense to do what they're doing right now: get legalization done at the state level. If the federal government lifted restrictions tomorrow, state-level prohibition still applies in 21 states. 21 of the 29 states where marijuana is legal are medical-only. If you legalize it at the state level, you create a new market. Nobody is shipping weed in--crossing state lines with marijuana is, as it turns out, frowned upon--so you've got a total (pardon the pun) green field opportunity. There's no incumbent businesses to compete with. If weed was legalized by the federal government tomorrow, most of the remaining cannabis prohibition laws at the state level would fall away in a few months' time. You could then ship weed across state lines, though, which would mean that large California and Colorado growers would begin pumping weed into these new markets far faster than a fresh startup ever could. If you're someone with money, it makes FAR more sense to lobby at the state level rather than the federal level. And they are, seeing as more than half of the country has some form of legal weed.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

chepaslaaa 9y ago

The people that produce it right now don't want more competition. It's real easy to grow pot.

lacker 9y ago

Now that California has legalized recreational marijuana, research into medical marijuana is nearly pointless from a capitalist point of view. The endgame isn't anything to do with medical marijuana at all. It's that recreational marijuana steadily advances across the country. Whoever wins the California recreational market will have the advantage in that game.

Clubber 9y ago

The FOP (Fraternal Order of Police) is a very, very powerful union. Up there with the NRA in terms of political power. Because the FOP as an organization typically endorses the GOP, they were spared all the anti-union rhetoric over the past 40 years. While workers' unions crumbled, the FOP grew in power. Of course they are for the drug war, because that's the majority of what they do. It justifies their existence. Pot is the largest drug seized (by far), so for them, it's an existential fight.

kiliantics 9y ago
Yeah, I realise there are a lot of strong lobbies against legalisation, it's just surprising that they are still winning in the face of so much profit. On the topic of FOP though, I think they are spared anti-union practices because they do not pose the typical threat to entrenched power structures which conventional unions do. They in fact reinforce it and protect the interests of the ruling class, so of course the government supports them. The FOP is one of the worst players out there. There is a horrifying statistic that over 40% of police officers are known to be domestic abusers[0] and yet the FOP has fought for such criminals to maintain the right to have weapons and to give them positions of authority and the power to use force on others in society. Truly monstrous. [0] http://womenandpolicing.com/violencefs.asp http://womenandpolicing.com/violencefs.asp