This article by Alfonso Colasuonno was originally published on Goldleaf, and appears here with permission.
The days of cannabis reform being an issue advanced solely by countercultural types are long gone. A rapidly increasing number of people from all walks of life—including from the exciting world of big business—are in favor of legalization or decriminalization.
Read on for ten quotes from entrepreneurs who support a sea change in our current cannabis policies:
(In response to being asked if cannabis should be legalized)
“Yes. And release prisoners who are incarcerated for pot.”
Mark Cuban, Majority Owner of the Dallas Mavericks
“Who most benefits from keeping marijuana illegal? The greatest beneficiaries are the major criminal organizations in Mexico and elsewhere that earn billions of dollars annually from this illicit trade—and who would rapidly lose their competitive advantage if marijuana were a legal commodity.”
George Soros, Founder of the Open Society Foundations
“Of course I know how to roll a joint.”
Martha Stewart, Majority Shareholder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
“It’s not just the over $8 billion that we would be saving in law enforcement; it’s also the over $8 billion that we would be making by taxing marijuana…We are filling our jails with nonviolent drug offenders—predominantly young, predominantly African-American…It’s a great beyond left and right issue. It has support across the political spectrum and also the support of the majority of the American people.”
Arianna Huffington, Founder of The Huffington Post
“I have friends who smoke pot…It’s ridiculous to treat them as criminals.”
David Koch, Former Vice President of Koch Industries
“I’d like to see the government back a programme of research into the medical properties of cannabis and I do not object to its responsible use as a recreational relaxant.”
Richard Branson, Founder of The Virgin Group
“You either make it illegal, in which case you support a huge underground economy or you tax it within the limits people can afford.”
Kevin O’Leary, Founder of O’Leary Ventures
“Selling weed literally went from a major felony to essential business (open during a pandemic) in much of America and yet many are still in prison. Doesn't make sense, isn't right."
Elon Musk, Founder/CEO of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, Inc.
(In response to being asked if he had ever smoked cannabis)
"You bet I did and I enjoyed it."
Michael Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg L.P.
"US jails hold around 2.4 million people—about 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. Blacks and Hispanics are significantly more likely than whites to be arrested for possession and sale of marijuana and to receive a conviction and criminal record, even though the majority of marijuana users are non-Hispanic whites. Almost 40 percent of prisoners are black. More than half the people entering prison live below the poverty line. Our entire society pays the price for an unfair, broken system."
Mark Zuckerberg, Founder/CEO of Facebook
Read the original Article on Goldleaf.
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