A new article by Vice outlines how tax revenues from marijuana have been allocated to fund schools and substance-abuse prevention and treatment: "The state announced last week that 11 school districts that had applied for grants would receive nearly $1 million in funding from marijuana tax revenues, with the state promising more than $1.5 million to future applicants."
But the article also delves into some heavy (and dreaded-by-some) territory–big marijuana–with two sources in the article noting that "the tobacco industry has studied the marijuana market for more than 40 years in case it ever became legalized."
One of the sources–Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana–comments, "You could say it's ironic. It's the values of the hippies that got us here and the values of Wall Street that will win out at the end of the day. We're finding out that legalization is not about ending the war on drugs or letting people out of jail or social justice or even civil liberties. It's about money. It's about profits."
That comment is likely akin to pouring lemon juice into a bad wound for many in the industry–those who are still celebrating what they consider freedom of civil liberties and, yes, progress toward ending the war on drugs and the unnecessary incarceration of hundreds of thousands of people each year.
But most in the industry are also keenly aware of the likelihood that Big Tobacco will be getting its hands into the marijuana industry as soon as they can. In fact, according to one industry insider I've spoken with (who would not comment publicly, nor divulge any further information about what or how they know this), Big Tobacco is "already in."
