Contributing writer for Wake Up World
When it comes down to it, corporations have just one purpose: turn a large profit for shareholders. So it should come as no surprise that corporate America has turned its eye toward the wildly successful recreational cannabis movement. In 2015 alone, legal pot sales in the United States jumped 17% to $5.4 billion and are expected to grow 25% this year — an estimated $6.7 billion in U.S. sales. And, of course, corporate interests want their share.
But it’s not simply a modern day gold rush, many feel there is an underlying agenda at hand — with a few very wealthy individuals pulling the strings.
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Exploding cannabis market
The numbers behind legalized pot sales are astonishing considering the first recreational dispensaries opened for business in Colorado a mere two years ago. And this is only the beginning.
According to ArcView Market Research, the legal cannabis market will be worth a staggering $21.8 billion total sales by 2020. To put this in perspective, when the legalized marijuana market hits that point, it will surpass the National Football League, which is estimated to reach $25 billion by 2027.
“I think that we are going to see in 2016 this next wave of investors, the next wave of business operators, and people who’ve sort of been watching or dipping their toe in, really starting to swing for the fences and take it really seriously,” said ArcView CEO Troy Dayton.
Four states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana to date, with a total 23 states having legalized medical marijuana. A half dozen additional states are considering opening up legalized recreational use with ballot measures in autumn 2016. California is one state that is being watched with great anticipation, where a large portion of the total industry is accounted for with medical marijuana sales. If the state legalizes recreational marijuana this November, the sky is the limit for industry sales. Add to this the revamping of recreational cannabis legislation in Colorado, Oregon and Washington — which will allow investors from around the U.S. to finance the legal marijuana industry — and it’s no wonder corporate heavy hitters are attentive.
But it’s not all glory for the movement, there are those who feel there’s a hidden agenda, one that is controlled by corporate interests and a few exceptionally wealthy individuals who have ties to the biotech industry and Big Pharma.
Hidden motives for legalized cannabis
Portrayed as a grassroots movement, you may not realize that the driving force behind legalization of both medical and recreational marijuana is none other than billionaire George Soros. Along with a cadre of other wealthy donors, Soros has spent at least $80 million in the quest of legalizing cannabis. Through his Foundation to Promote an Open Society, he has funneled donations to the Drug Policy Alliance — a non-profit organization with “the principal goal of ending the American “War on Drugs.”’ He’s also donates annually to the American Civil Liberties Union, an organization which funds marijuana legalization efforts, and gives to the Marijuana Policy Project, which supports state ballot measures.
In the official paper, “DEA Position on Marijuana” the agency points out that “a few wealthy businessmen — not broad grassroots support — started and sustain the ‘medical’ marijuana and drug legalization movements in the U.S. Without their money and influence, the drug legalization movement would shrivel.”
Moreover, Soros was instrumental in Uruguay becoming the first country to legalize cultivation, sale and consumption of marijuana. He sits on the board of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) — the world’s most powerful organization regarding the legalization of marijuana. The DPA is not only extremely influential in the United States, but also in Uruguay and other Latin American countries.
George Soros appears to be a hero of the cannabis movement — helping states (and even an entire country) pass legislation for medical and recreational use. But he also has strong ties with the pharmaceutical industry and Monsanto as a major stock holder — the same chemical corporation and biotech giant that developed Agent Orange, DDT, PCBs, toxic pesticides, rBGH, Roundup Ready and genetically engineered Frankenfoods. While the widely circulated urban myth that Monsanto is currently developing genetically modified cannabis is false, if you dig a bit deeper, it turns out the corporation quietly conducts research projects on tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in marijuana for the apparent purpose of genetically modifying the plant at a future date.
Writes William Engdahl, author of Seeds of Destruction: The Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulation:
“David Watson of the Dutch company Hortapharm has since 1990 created the world’s largest collection of Cannabis seed varieties. In 1998, the British firm GW Pharmaceuticals signed an agreement with Hortapharm that gives GW Pharma the rights to use the Hortapharm cannabis for their research.
In 2003 the German Bayer AG then signed an agreement with GW Pharmaceuticals for joint research on a cannabis-based extract. In 2007, Bayer AG agreed to an exchange of technology with… Monsanto. […] Thus Monsanto has discreet access to the work of the cannabis plant and its genetic modification. In 2009 GW Pharmaceuticals announced that it had succeeded in genetically altering a cannabis plant and patented a new breed of cannabis.”
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Engdahl believes it doesn’t take a large stretch of the imagination to see that Monsanto could very well be laying the groundwork for a future controlling patented cannabis seeds, especially since Uruguay’s president Mujica has expressed a desire to create unique genetic codes for marijuana within his country in order to undermine the blackmarket. Monsanto could easily step in and accommodate Mujica’s wish, considering the history the biotech corporation has had in Uruguay over the decades growing GMO soybeans and maize.
Back in the United States, it’s interesting to note that the criminalization of both industrial hemp and marijuana has been financially lucrative for a range of industries, like the prison system and military-industrial complex, along with the banking, fossil fuel, timber, cotton and pharmaceutical industries. In light of this, Conrad Justice Kiczenski warns:
“The next stage in continuing this control is in the regulation, licensing and taxation of Cannabis cultivation and use through the only practical means available to the corporate system, which is through genetic engineering and patenting of the Cannabis genome.”
Article sources:
- www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/2/billionaire-george-soros-turns-cash-into-legalized
- www.fortune.com/2016/02/01/marijuana-sales-legal
- www.counterpunch.org/2016/07/08/monsanto-bayer-and-the-push-for-corporate-cannabis
- www.mintpressnews.com/did-monsanto-really-just-get-a-patent-for-gmo-marijuana/204480
- www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-corporate-marijuana-20160324-story.html
- www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/opinion/corporate-takeover-of-marijuana.html?_r=0
About the author:
Carolanne Wright enthusiastically believes if we want to see change in the world, we need to be the change. As a nutritionist, natural foods chef and wellness coach, Carolanne has encouraged others to embrace a healthy lifestyle of organic living, gratefulness and joyful orientation for over 13 years.
Through her website Thrive-Living.net, she looks forward to connecting with other like-minded people from around the world who share a similar vision. You can also follow Carolanne on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Further reading from Carolanne Wright:
- Don’t Ask, Just Plant — Taking Back Our Food Sovereignty with Guerrilla Gardening
- Seed Bombs: A Creative (and Fun) Mission to Save the Bees and Butterflies
- Autistic Boy with Higher IQ Than Einstein Discovers Gift After Removal from State-Run Therapy
- Dr Sebi: The Man Who Cures Aids, Cancer, Diabetes and More
- Big Pharma and Organized Crime — They are More Similar Than You May Think
- Emotional Energetic Healing: The Future of Medicine is Here
- The Greenhouse of the Future: Grow Your Own Food Year-Round With This Revolutionary System
- CDC Concealed Link Between Thimerosal and Autism for Over a Decade, Forced to Release Incriminating Documents
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This is why no body can get what they need-! these criminals along w/ those at the UN have criminally ruined the medicinal Marijuana Industry, read the UN report to see how these Fraudulent criminals, have wiped out all the Worlds Medicinal Hemp -! Going back over 30 years-! & how the Kabbalah controlled Pharmaceutical Industry was behind this Crime-! see Revelations 18:23
George Soros seems to have his filthy paws in everything these days. Criminal! I think it should all be legalized, but in the hands of Pharma or Monanto it will be rendered worthless or deadly.
Drug prohibition must end in its entirety, and all oppressors, to include that evil entity which is the pharmaceutical industry, must be removed from power!
robertsrevolution.net
Any and EVERY time the govt steps in – it is to control whatever it is pointing at. NOT for your safety, NOT to help you grow your own medical junk (personally NOT into pot at any level) it is to totally make that market and vertical income stream ONLY affordable to the wealthy. This is what the morons did with the energy system. This is why the Prohibition was enforced – the Model T had 2 switches which allowed the car to run on alcohol – and towns and farmers were making their own fuel. Rockefeller couldn’t stand that, so….
This is why your food safety has NOT made food safer, your war on drugs is a total failure, your war on terrorists a total failure – it’s about CONTROL OVER YOU – it has nothing to do with stated results.
Check out the documentary Fair Competition in Business https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H710EMemXE You can find it in HD on youtube as well if you search. I’m also producing a documentary called Overpriced, there is no way billionaires can afford to pay everyone off to not share these videos lol somehow documentaries about ending prohibition don’t get public support like legalizing limited business https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEVhKWfQct4
Very good points you’ve brought up here Nicole — thank you. Up until a few years ago, I supported the legalization of all drugs, for a variety of reasons politically and in the spirit of freedom. But I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in certain people who have crossed my path that use pot on a regular basis (about once a week or a couple of times a month). Loss of memory and sharpness is one (beyond when they’re high). Another is psychotic breaks with reality. With one friend, it was temporary, but a young man (age 19) I knew years ago has permanent damage. After his first time smoking pot, he became so severed from reality that he now cannot function in any meaningful manner. Moreover, my pot smoking neighbors haven’t been stellar examples of critical thought or awareness.
Back to your point. I agree — we need to be sharp and attentive, especially today with so much going on. Basically, we need our wits about us — and that cannot happen if we’re stoned. I would like to add, however, that I do not agree with imprisoning people who are in possession of small amounts of narcotics. Instead, I think we should view it the same as Portugal, as a public health issue. https://wakeup-world.com/2016/02/07/the-unexpected-effect-of-decriminalizing-drugs-in-portugal-fifteen-years-later/
I have financially supported The Drug Policy Alliance and have met Ethan Nadelmann who is a passionate reformer, a great leader and speaker. But, having followed some of the ethicly questionable ventures that Soros has his finger prints on, I have to question his motives. I think he is driven, primarily by money, but I wonder what else he has going on in that devious mind of his.
Exactly what this article states. Currently fighting his AUMA bill in California as he attempts to destroy the medical Cannabis efforts; and replace it with corporate trash .
This was an excellent article. The power brokers and money interests like to move behind the scenes, and even though the outward appearance of the legalization movement looks authentic, it always helps to follow the money. Even the best intended organic movements don’t simply grow with the wind. Somebody is organizing, and it always serves us well to find out where the funding comes from. When someone like Soros is involved, it makes sense to take a closer look and see if any hidden motive might exist.
I hoped it was strictly a grass roots effort, but am not surprised it’s an agenda for control and profit. I can only hope Monsanto doesn’t start making GMO marijuana seeds that end up ruining the real thing, as I understand it does with other plants and vegetables.
Death is not the end. Some day George Soros will have to reckon with his Creator and it will not go well with him. He sold out his own people to the Nazis and now he is selling out the people of America. “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” [1 Timothy 6:10]
If they do anything to alter it and it comes out like shit they will find that they wasted their time. It needs to stay natural and for the best results make it the most premium quality. Oh and no one way distribution, some people may like joints but I like to use the pipe.