Politics of pot: how the US cannabis industry plans to spend big in the 2016 election

As marijuana dollars flow to Rand Paul, some advocates are also hopeful about Hillary Clinton's softening drug stance

By Raf Sanchez, Washington

After handing over their campaign donation cheques, the smartly dressed business people took their seats at a large horseshoe table inside the Colorado convention centre.
The room was drab and grey and the gathering looked no different from any of the other daily fundraising events that are pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the 2016 presidential campaign.
But the business executives being courted by Rand Paul, a libertarian-leaning Republican senator, were not lawyers or bankers or oil men. They were the leaders of America's rapidly growing cannabis industry, men and women becoming rich selling a product that is technically just as illegal as heroin or LSD.

"It was a historic moment," said Tripp Keber, head of Dixie Brands, a company that sells cannabis-infused fizzy drinks and other marijuana products. "This is the first time a presidential candidate has openly dealt with an industry still considered illegal at the federal level."
As marijuana becomes big business in America, its political clout is also growing. Politicians are no longer embarrassed to be seen in public with so-called “pot barons” and the cannabis industry is gearing up to be a significant player in next year’s presidential election.
Just as coal companies and Wall Street banks use campaign dollars to get politicians’ attention, the makers of pot brownies and cannabis tea are prepared to spend big to get their message across. There is even talk of a marijuana super-PAC which could run television ads in support of cannabis-friendly candidates.

The “holy grail” of their lobbying efforts is to get marijuana decriminalised and out of the legal grey zone where it is now stuck.
Under US national law, marijuana is still prohibited but the Obama administration has stepped aside to allow individual states to experiment with legalisation.
That means you buy marijuana perfectly legally under state law while at the same time violating federal laws.

Cannabis is now legal for recreational purposes in four states and can be purchased medicinally in 23 states. Colorado is the heart of America’s marijuana business and laws there are more relaxed than Amsterdam, with marijuana available over the counter in upmarket dispensaries that look like high-end wine shops
Arcview, a firm that gathers investment data, calls cannabis “the fastest growing industry in America” and forecasts it will grow from its current value of $3.4 billion to more than $10 billion by 2019. Last year around 1.5 million Americans are estimated to have bought marijuana products legally under state law.

Yet for all the celebratory news coming out of the industry, business leaders and activists are still trying to strike down the federal ban on cannabis, which they compare to the failed 1920s prohibition on alcohol.
"Marijuana exists on every street corner in America,” said Mr Keber. “Why allow the drug cartels to fill their coffers and fuel narco-terrorism when we can tax it, track it and regulate it?”
And so cannabis supporters are looking for champions among the 2016 presidential candidates. Rand Paul is so far the leading contender and earned an A- ranking from the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) for his calls to let states decide their own drug laws.
Cannabis leaders responded with more than $100,000 (£65,000) in donations at his Colorado fundraiser, the maximum they could give, and the National Cannabis Industry Association’s political action committee gave another $5,000.

While Bill Clinton famously said he smoked marijuana at Oxford but “did not inhale”, Hillary Clinton maintains that she has never tried cannabis and has no plans to.

Yet with polls showing a majority of Americans believe cannabis should be legal, Mrs Clinton’s own positions have softened and she is open to continuing Barack Obama’s policy of allowing states to experiment with legalisation. “States are laboratories of democracy,” she said last year. “I want to wait and see what the evidence is.”
She was given a B- ranking and activists are hopeful she will recognise marijuana reform is important to parts of the Democratic base. Many younger voters are excited by the idea and it is a racial justice issue for some African Americans, who are disproportionately prosecuted on cannabis charges.
Donald Trump earned a C in the MPP rankings and the harshest grade, an F, was reserved for Chris Christie, the outspoken governor of New Jersey. A former federal prosecutor, Mr Christie promised he would “crack down” and order the FBI to resume raids even in states that have legalised marijuana.
Marijuana advocates are also finding allies among both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. “When I started doing this in 2009 my emails would often go unreturned,” said Dan Riffle, a cannabis lobbyist. “Now people understand this is a serious issue and not just a bunch of stoners in tie-dye saying ‘free the weed.’”

Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican congressman from a conservative district in California, is one of those allies and recently succeeded in passing a provision that bars the US government from prosecuting medical marijuana users in states that have legalised.
Sitting on a leather seat in a Congressional hallway, Mr Rohrabacher reflected on how the debate had changed since he arrived in Congress in 1989. “Talking about marijuana used to be taboo here but it’s not anymore.”
The Republican estimated that he lost around one per cent of the vote among people opposed to legalisation when he came out as a marijuana supporter but that he picked up 5-10 per cent among liberals.
The medical cannabis business in California is worth around $1.3 billion and Mr Rohrbacher said that marijuana executives usually fill one of the seven tables at his fundraising events.

“You’ve got the credit union people sitting at one table and the energy people sitting at one table and now you’ve got the marijuana people sitting there too,” he said. “In all, it’s been a very big plus politically.”
Tripp Keber, the Colorado marijuana businessman, said that even a few years ago local politicians were anxious not to be publicly linked with cannabis and would accept donations in cash during backroom meetings while presidential candidates would come nowhere near.
Today, he is donating to candidates at the local, state, and federal level.
"Those backroom meetings don't happen anymore. Now we're in restaurants or hotel penthouses," he said. “The tide has really turned and I think the power of cannabis is going to be a factor in presidential elections going forward.”

Politics of pot: how the US cannabis industry plans to spend big in the 2016 election

Le sfide in Usa per avviare un business sulla marijuana

Nel 2010, Jake George provo' ad individuare un mercato che aspettava di essere considerato e si concentro' tutto su una nuova impresa: insieme a sua moglie Lydia, venduta la maggior parte dei propri beni, si trasferirono un un appartamento piu' piccolo nello Stato di Washington e investirono 10.000 Usd per finanziare GreenLink Collective.
L'iniziativa ha dato buoni risultati. Le vendite raddoppiavano ogni anno -dice George- e la sua donna apri' una succursale. Sarebbe una classica storia di piccoli negozi, se non fosse che Heorge vende marijuana.
L'erba e' legale in meno della meta' del territorio statunitense pur continuando ad essere illegale per la legge federale. E ammantata di pregiudizi culturali nonche' associata con altro in modo polemico, ma una quantita' crescente di imprenditori in Usa, come George, stanno trasformando la marijuana in un grande business.
Molti sono stimolati da impulsi missionari sui benefici medici di questa droga o da una passione per il suo uso ricreativo. Per altri invece e' come una grande opportunita' imprenditoriale, e sono convinti che nel mercato la domanda crescera' e le preoccupazioni diminuiranno.
I difensori di questa industria stanno gia' facendo previsioni ottime. Il guadagno annuale da marijuana, per il 2018, potrebbe oscillare tra 4.500 e 6.000 milioni di Usd in tutti gli Stati Uniti, un forte aumento rispetto ai 1.300/1.500 milioni di Usd del 2013, secondo alcune proiezioni di MMJ Business Daily, una pubblicazione online che si occupa delle aziende.
ArcView Group, una rete di investitori con sede in San Francisco e che e' specializzata nell'industria della cannabis, stima che il mercato statunitense di marijuana legale crescera' del 64% a 2.340 milioni di Usd nel 2014, e nei successivi cinque anni arrivera' a 10.00 milioni di Usd.

“Senza dubbi si puo' guadagnare soldi”, dice Beau Kilmer, codirettore di RAND – Drug Policy Research Center, un'organizzazione di ricerca senza scopo di lucro che studia temi e tendenze relative alle droghe. Sommando le vendite legali ed illegali, stima che “l'attuale spesa al dettaglio per la marijuana in Usa e' di decine di migliaia di milioni di dollari”, e “si prevede che un mercato completamente legale generera' migliaia di milioni di dollari di introiti”.
Ma Kilmer -e alcuni funzionari statali- sostengono che e' impossibile prevedere un mercato cosi' ancora poco sperimentato. Gran parte del consumo attuale di marijuana illegale riesce a far guadagnare coltivatori e venditori pur col rischio di arresto e carcerazione. E scomparira' se si legalizza -dice Kilmer. E se la marijuana potra' essere coltivata apertamente, come altri prodotti agricoli, i prezzi caleranno di piu' con le economie di scala. “In questo momento, nessuno sa nulla con certezza”.
Nel frattempo, gli imprenditori della cannabis devono affrontare ostacoli che altri business avviati non conoscono. Banche, padroni di casa, leader della comunita' -incluse le famiglie degli imprenditori- spesso disapprovano queste iniziative. E' difficile che questi business trovino i luoghi in cui operare, ottenere il denaro di cui hanno bisogno nonche' sentirsi completamente sicuri nel business stesso.
Attualmente, 20 Stati e il Distretto di Colombia consentono in Usa l'uso della marijuana a fini medici, e ci sono iniziative in corso per la legalizzazione in altri luoghi, incluso lo Stato di New York. Ma in Colorado e Washington sono andati piu' avanti con il progetto di trasformare la cannabis in una industria di massa.
I difensori della marijuana in questi due Stati valutano che ci sara' una gran quantita' di consumatori che rispondera' agli sforzi del mercato. Molte persone estranee a questo ambiente sono gia' entrate nel business, sostengono alcuni impresari industriali. “In realta' e' affascinante la quantita' di investitori che oggi chiedono di esser parte di questo ambito. Molti lo vedono come la prossima grande industria statunitense”, dice Jay Czarkowski, cofondatore del dispensario di marijuana medica Boulder Kind Care e attualmente socio e dirigente di Canna Advisors, un ufficio di consulenza di Boulder, nello Stato del Colorado, che aiuta chi vuole aprire imprese di marijuana.
Brendan Kennedy, cofondatore di Privateer Holdings, un'azienda di investimenti di Seattle che si sta concentrando sulle imprese di cannabis, sostiene che le proposte che riceve di potenziali investimenti, “sono sempre molto piu' professionali negli ultimi tre anni”.
Attualmente Privateer ha un'azienda cartiera: la pagina web e le app mobili Leafly sono a disposizione dei consumatori che possono scegliere tipi e dispensari di marijuana. Quando Privateer compro' Leafly nel 2011, registrava 180.000 visite al mese ed “essenzialmente con reddito zero”. Ora il fatturato mensile e' di 125.000 Usd, e ad agosto ci sono state tre milioni di visite.
Altri esperti e funzionari consigliano cautela per la speculazione sulle prospettice di questa industria. Brian White, portavoce del Consiglio di Controllo sulle Bevande Alcooliche dello Stato di Washington, dice che il proprio Stato spera che la cannabis legale possa convertirsi in una fonte significativa di guadagni. Ma diche che “non c'e' nessuna certezza di quanto si guadagnera' con la vendita di marijuana legale. La nostra legislatura non ha registrato guadagni dalle vendite”.
Molti impresari stanno decidendo che anche se il mercato sara' basso, saranno comunque li' a raccoglierne i frutti. Il caso di George e' un esempio. Originario dello Stato di Washington e rappresentante per la vendita di elettrodomestici, decise di entrare nel settore dopo la visita, nel 2008, ad un dispensario locale per comprare marijuana dietro presentazione di una ricetta medica. George sperava di incontrare un ambiente professionale, ma rimase sorpreso a verificare che “molta gente stava parlando con un medico in un garage”.
L'esperienza lo spinse ad offrire una alternativa migliore. Il business che avvio' -con un giardino per coltivare piante, una vetrina e un panificio per trasformare la droga in cibo per i pazienti che non fumano- era lo stesso di molte piccole imprese. Offriva incentivi come tessere fedelta' e si promuoveva online tramite Leafly.
Ma l'imprenditore affronta ostacoli, soprattutto trovare una banca, un problema che si presenta per chiunque intende avviare un business di cannabis. George dice che il suo business deve andare avanti solo con un guadagno. Nessuna banca gli consente di aprire un conto in virtu' del fatto che il suo business e' con la marijuana -dice- e senza un conto non si possono accettare transazioni con carte di credito o di debito.
Ci sono iniziative politiche in corso che potrebbero rendere meno problematiche le preoccupazioni bancarie. Per esempio, il procuratore generale degli Usa, Eric Holder, ha detto poco tempo fa che il Governo federale stabilira' delle linee guida per consentire che le aziende legali di cannabis ottengano accesso al credito bancario.

Comunque, ci sono molti ostacoli. Riuscire ad avere spazi fisici puo' rappresentare un grande problema: molti sostengono che le citta' sono ostiche di fronte all'apertura di dispensari per questo prodotto.
Alcuni impresari del settore dicono che le proprie aziende sono trattate come qualunque altro business. Dan Williams, presidente di Canna Security America, con sede a Denver, che offre servizi di sicurezza per chi opera con la marijuana, fa sapere che non ha avuto problemi con agenti federali o banche. “Credo perche' siamo un fornitore di servizi e non maneggiamo la cannabis”.
Nel suo business -dice- l'unico problema reale e' stato “mantenere il ritmo di crescita esponenziale di questa industria”.

(articolo di Iris Dorbian, pubblicato sul quotidiano The Wall Stret Journal del 14/02/2014)

Le sfide in Usa per avviare un business sulla marijuana

Colorado Marijuana Industry Gets $1 Million From Investor Group: It's 'The Next Great American Industry'

The Huffington Post  |  By Matt Ferner

Investors looking for high returns took to Colorado this week and poured more than $1 million into the burgeoning legalized recreational marijuana industry in the state.

In Denver, more than 60 investors from The ArcView Group met with 22 startup marijuana companies -- including several directly involved in marijuana sales or cultivation, which was a first for the investment group -- seeking capital. By the end of the meetings, the investors committed "well over $1 million" to Colorado marijuana companies, ArcView CEO Troy Dayton told The Denver Post.

And it may have been even more, however, due to Colorado's marijuana laws which requires investors to qualify as state residents for three years before making equity investments in a marijuana business, some investors had to cap their deal pens.

ArcView president Steve DeAngelo told Bloomberg Businessweek that more than 90 percent of ArcView's investors at the meeting came from out of state -- meaning the overwhelming majority of them could not invest.

“Colorado has an opportunity to claim a—if not the—leading role in the cannabis industry, if it’s properly financed,” DeAngelo said. “It’s an opportunity to build the first big companies and the first big brands. But it’s going to be difficult for them to do that if they’re unable to get the financing that’s available to every other industry.”

Cannabis business is "the next great American industry," ArcView CEO Dayton said when opening the investment meeting this week and despite the red tape that kept many investors from jumping in, it still certainly seems to be off to a strong start. It has only been about a month since Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Department of Justice would let the new legal marijuana laws in Colorado and Washington go into effect.

But just because it appears the feds will stay out of the way of Colorado and Washington's nascent recreational marijuana industry, the fact that marijuana is still considered illegal federally, due to the Controlled Substances Act, creates real problems for pot businesses. Issues like taxes, payroll and general banking are all negatively affected because of the federal government's marijuana stance.

“On the banking side it’s been a scary situation. A lot of these businesses have been forced into cash-only operations. They can’t use credit cards and in some cases don’t have active checking accounts,” said Aaron Smith, of the National Cannabis Industry Association, to The Daily Beast. “They pay their payroll in cash and their city and state licensing fees in cash."

Holder has said that the DOJ is "actively considering" how to regulate interactions between banks and marijuana shops that operate within state laws and don't violate other federal law enforcement priorities.

For now, financial institutions and other enterprises that do business with marijuana shops that are in compliance with state laws are unlikely to be prosecuted for money laundering or other federal crimes that could be brought under existing federal drug laws, as long as those pot businesses don't otherwise violate the priorities, a senior Department of Justice official said to HuffPost in August.

And a new trail toward pot business' access to banking, tax reform and protection from the federal government is being blazed by several lawmakers. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) and Rep. Denny Heck (D-Wash.) are seeking reformed access to banking for marijuana businesses with their "Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act of 2013" (H.R. 2652), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist are working a piece of legislation that would allow for marijuana businesses the take the standard deductions from federal taxes that other non-marijuana businesses can and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) has introduced the "Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2013" (H.R. 1523) which seeks to further protect a person acting in compliance with state laws relating to the production, possession, distribution or delivery of marijuana.

Recreational marijuana businesses are expected to start opening their doors in Colorado beginning around Jan. 1, 2014. Earlier this month, Colorado became the first state in the U.S. to adopt rules for legal, recreational marijuana sales.

The ArcView Investor Network, founded in 2010, is comprised of about 80 investors from the United States and abroad, many of whom are already involved in the marijuana industry. Back in May, the group committed $1 million to marijuana industry startups at a similar Seattle, Wash. event.

Colorado Marijuana Industry Gets $1 Million From Investor Group: It's 'The Next Great American Industry'