Day 2 #CannabisJounalism

Today I went to a variety of places for class, such as the Cannabist show and the law firm of Vincente and Sederburg and met some huge people in the local cannabis industry.

One thing that stood out was how apparent the role of money plays in all of these politics. It struck me when a local politician didn’t have time to pay attention to us because he was busy schmoozing people with deeper pockets. It’s not his fault, but it is unfortunately just the way the game is played.

It takes a huge amount of money to enact social or political change in this country. Whether it be greasing palms, lobbying politicians, or paying campaign workers, it all requires funds. For better or for worse, there is a huge amount of money to be made or lost from cannabis and everyone has a vested interest. Pro legalization initiatives instantly get funded by those looking to profit from the industry, while counter initiatives and opposition are instantly formed by big tobacco and alcohol who would suffer from state legalization. To me, it seems like rational discussion based on logic and facts often suffers from outside factors in this industry, and I think that needs to be changed. How this is done is a more complicated matter, but something I will look towards in the future.