While this represents a significant shift concerning cultural stigma associated with cannabis users, the second announcement carried political ramifications.
Moving forward, Amazon stated that its public policy team will support the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, a bill that passed the House of Representatives last December that would remove cannabis with more than 0.3 percent THC from the list of Controlled Substances.
Last April, Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi stated that the company would enter the marijuana delivery space if and when federal reform advances.
While we all believe in the altruism of legalization, the market is ultimately the driving force behind what is and is not feasible and dictates what is allowed and not allowed.
The lobbying power of a company like Amazon not only far surpasses what the marijuana industry is currently capable of, but it goes a long way to legitimize the economic potential of legalization in the eyes of D.C.
And yes, pick almost any large multinational company, and at some point, they’ve almost all failed to comply with certain regulations, treated their employees poorly, etc.
Further, the support of big businesses and their lobbying efforts will likely give policymakers more confidence in the legalization and commercialization of marijuana.
If the plant was fully legalized tomorrow, and there was no Procter and Gamble, no Coca-Cola, no Amazons of the world involved, it’s conceivable that policymakers would be wary of who’s producing and distributing marijuana.
Whether advocates and the industry like it or not, bureaucrats need the sense of comfort that comes from dealing with the familiar faces of big business involved in producing and distributing marijuana.
It’s a tired, old analogy, but I’m going to use it anyway.
Ultimately, support from the likes of Amazon is just going to accelerate the cultural and political change cannabis pioneers have been advocating for for more than half a century.
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