According to former Senator Tom Daschle legalising Cannabis can partially solve US economy’s problems in the short term, and it can even help to stabilise the US economy in the long run.
The Senator has further claimed that Cannabis is an $16 billion dollar industry, and it has the potential to become a $75 billion industry in the long run.
Also he’s acknowledged the fact that Cannabis is approved in 40 states, and if it’s legalised in all the states then it could create much needed jobs, and even the government can benefit from the taxes levied on it’s sale.
It's downright amazing how all these republicans who used to extol the dangers of cannabis have now come around and are advocating for legalization now that they stand to profit from it. To be clear, Daschle is on the advisory board of Clever Leaves, a cannabis company. He stands to profit personally from legalization.
Daschle is a Democrat, but to be fair the Democrats have always been almost as anti-marijuana as the Republicans. Both parties have traditionally been in the pocket of drug companies who have every interest in keeping cannabis illegal.
Here is the important thing: he isn't just on the board of a pot company. Like most former legislators, he is a paid lobbyist. He's working for the pot companies through his law group at mega lobbying firm Baker Donelson. And that's the problem with the American legislative system. The whole system is a revolving door between lobbyists and legislators. If you want to change the law, you need to shell out massive payments to lobbyists like Daschle, who can grease the wheels through his legislator cronies.
So to recap, before he could profit off legalization, it was bad. Now that he can profit off legalization, it's good.
That's how all legislative questions break down: who profits? Once you find your answer, you'll find who is behind the passage of the law. Cannabis companies are becoming a powerful lobbying and campaign fundraising force. The mainstream drug companies, at some point, won't be able to pay lobbyists and politicians enough to stop them. And that's how anti-marijuana politicians become pro-marijuana politicians. The supporters lining their coffers change.
