Do We Really Want a Microsoft of Marijuana?
The legalization of marijuana as a medicine in 33 states, 11 of which allow its use as a recreational drug, has made weed a dynamic American industry, among the economy’s fastest-growing sources of new jobs. California alone, with $3.1 billion in projected marijuana sales for this year, has a legal market as large as that of any country on the planet.
HIGHLIGHTS
*Opinion: This is a really good read; and makes you ponder if the right thing for legalization might be to only allow state-run dispensaries to sell Marijuana.
- Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and is classified as a highly dangerous Schedule 1 narcotic. A bank that does business with weed growers or sellers puts its assets at risk, making it difficult for independent Entrepreneurs to get the funding they need.
- Well-capitalized (venture capital) pot businesses are already turning into big corporations.
- Adding sophisticated banking to the pot business will turn an artisanal space into a corporate one.
Read More at the New York Times
