Miner tackles hemp and marijuana business

[JeeSee]

A mining magnate brings his commercial expertise by starting a marijuana and hemp business.

Although the article's perspective sees this now as a positive step (and it may well be, in the future), I have a couple of hesitations here. Firstly, mining isn't exactly a sector that's looked up to for its ethical practices - they're huge companies, they need to extract resources, and many a times they bully the political landscape of entire countries or compromise on the most basic human rights to get what they need from the land. Secondly, this seems to be the advent of something I was afraid of - the profit-making conglomerates realizing the amount of money to be made in the marijuana business. How long until the small, home-owned communities are run aground by lobbyists and gigantic automated processes they cannot compete with? How long before we see a replication of the terrible capitalist model that's fraught the world for over a century now?

What do you think, fellow FCers?

 

[Gunky]

This is why we must insist on the 'tomato model' where you have various types of production, from backyard to local summer veg stand to big conglomerate. The Washington model - where home growing is not allowed - should be eschewed in favor of the Colorado model.

 

[JeeSee]

Could you explain the differences between the models?

 

[t-dub]

Some mining companies mine silver which is really important in manufacturing electronics like computers and smartphones etc. At least hemp is a renewable resource and likely to have a much smaller environmental footprint than mining. Thank goodness its not Monsanto doing it.

 

[Gunky]

No doubt there are Washingtonians and Coloradans here who could give a better account, but briefly Washington started out with state liquor monopoly and state stores for alcoholic beverages. So they are essentially continuing in that vein. Personal cultivation is not allowed. Colorado is more like the tomato idea. The state licenses and regulates stores and growers, but you can also cultivate your own. Ok it is still regulated and quantity limited, but CO is getting close to the tomato model, which in my view is ideal.