Will new cannabis laws create giant marijuana companies, like a Philip Morris or Anheuser-Busch of weed?
Signs point to yes.
The pot industry is in a curious place. On one hand, it is still a cottage industry. On the other, there are lots and lots of cottages, with legal sales projected to hit $6.7 billion this year. Somehow this is happening despite recreational weed being legal in just four states and despite the strictures of federal law. Since we have no idea how pot will be regulated going forward, it’s actually kind of fun to theorize about it.
Today, adults in Oregon and a few other states can buy weed like we can buy beer. I do not know if that will be true when federal prohibition ends, or if weed will become a prescription-only item. Whether pot is sold at Plaid Pantry or cloistered away at Central Drugs, though, it seems likely that very large enterprises will emerge just like they have in the greater commodity and pharma sectors. That’s just the way our system seems to work.
Rather than keeping weed friendly, small, and local, one smart lawyer in my firm argues that federal prohibition is actually creating Big Marijuana, or Big Canna.