FOCUS ON PREVENTION The Impact of Marijuana on Society Contributed by: Carroll County Substance Education Coalition People Often Ask Us What Our Biggest Fear of Legalization Is - The Answer Is Simple: Big Pot Already in Colorado, Washington and elsewhere, massive special interest groups and lobbies have emerged to protect the marijuana industry. Ás soon as Coloradans cast their votes for legalization in 2012, would- be profiteers celebrated the expected green rush. One former Microsoft executive proclaimed that he would create the "Starbucks of Marijuana" and "mint more millionaires than Microsoft." A couple of Yale M.B.A.'s started a multimillion-dollar firm dedicated solely to financing the marijuana industry. Coalition Corner BIG MARIJUANA IS BORROWING FROM BIG TOBACCO'S PLAYBOOK IN SEARCH OF THE SAME DEEP PROFITS Indeed, the big business of marijuana was born. Like Big Tobacco of yesteryear, Big Marijuana knows that it needs lifelong addicted customers to prosper. Addictive industries generate the lion's share of their profits from addicts, not casual users. This means that creating addicts is hooked-thus are potentially the most profitable. the central goal. And as every good tobacco executive knows (but won't tell The marijuana industry targets younger, more frequent users because they're the most likely to get And the pot industry funds lobbyists and special MARIJUANA interest groups to downplay health risks, much you) this, in turn, means targeting the young. Welcome to Big Tobacco 2.0. In the emerging marijuana industry, potent edibles in the form of colorfully packaged cookies, candies, sodas and brownies are being advertised on the Internet and in mainstream newspapers and magazines across the state. A relentless marijuana lobby insists that these products are not especially attractive to children, yet continues to block controls on advertising, labeling, shape and color. When Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper wanted to limit access to marijuana magazines containing cartoon ads and coupons for one dollar joints by placing them behind the counter out of reach of children, the industry sued and won. That was the first of many victories for the marijuana lobby, whose case is buttressed by protections of commercial speech as free speech. This is not about mom-and-pop pot stores; it's about, in the words of one "Ganjapreneur," creating "the Wal-Mart of Marijuana." And Big Tobacco is not just an analogy. According to internal documents that the govemment forced Big Tobacco to release during its historic court settlement, those companies are ready to pounce on the golden opportunity of drug legalization. It is no wonder that the parent company of Phillip Morris, Altria, recently bought the domain names "AltriaCannabis.com" and "AltriaMarijuana.com." If this sounds frightening, it should be. Big Tobacco tried for decades to conceal the harms of their drug, and millions of lives were lost as a result. We are naive to think that this wouldn't happen with any other drug that is legalized. Large "cannabusinesses" have already ushered in mass advertising and vending machines. Now with legal cannabis barely in place, they have resorted to product giveaways (really) and they are aggressively embarking on rounds of multimillion-dollar investor fundraising. In his article entitled "Big Tobacco's future as Big Marijuana," Leonid Bershidsky advises investors that, "Big Tobacco is poised to dominate" the legal cannabis market, and for that reason, "Big Tobacco may be one of the biggest opportunities of a lifetime." If this sounds familiar, it should. The tobacco and alcohol industries follow similar patterms while hawking their legal, addictive substances. And we know how that story ends: money-hungry industries, targeting the vulnerable, will stop at nothing to increase addiction and profit. Why would we want to repeat that debacle with marijuana? Source: Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM): Preventing Another Big Tobacco www.learnaboutsam.org For more information on how to encourage drug-free behavior and guide good choices,visit our website at: 20MARANA CIGARETES like BigTobacco did with cigarettes decades ago. CCSEC The Scary truth about Marijuana Commercialization 1014 1000 800 634 600 523 478 400 392 326 297 208 209 200 Colorado Washington Oregon Licensed Marijuana Dispensaries Starbucks I McDonalds PARENTS are the NUMBER ONE reason that teens don't use drugs and alcohol www.drugfreecarrollcounty.com GET THE FACTS: For information on how to talk to your kids about drugs and alcohol - if you need help talking to your teens contact the Carroll County Substance Education Coalition at 815-244-0063 or email ccsec04@gmail.com. PARENTAL GUIDANCE REQUIRED PG TALK TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT DOING DRUGS FOCUS ON PREVENTION The Impact of Marijuana on Society Contributed by: Carroll County Substance Education Coalition People Often Ask Us What Our Biggest Fear of Legalization Is - The Answer Is Simple: Big Pot Already in Colorado, Washington and elsewhere, massive special interest groups and lobbies have emerged to protect the marijuana industry. Ás soon as Coloradans cast their votes for legalization in 2012, would- be profiteers celebrated the expected green rush. One former Microsoft executive proclaimed that he would create the "Starbucks of Marijuana" and "mint more millionaires than Microsoft." A couple of Yale M.B.A.'s started a multimillion-dollar firm dedicated solely to financing the marijuana industry. Coalition Corner BIG MARIJUANA IS BORROWING FROM BIG TOBACCO'S PLAYBOOK IN SEARCH OF THE SAME DEEP PROFITS Indeed, the big business of marijuana was born. Like Big Tobacco of yesteryear, Big Marijuana knows that it needs lifelong addicted customers to prosper. Addictive industries generate the lion's share of their profits from addicts, not casual users. This means that creating addicts is hooked-thus are potentially the most profitable. the central goal. And as every good tobacco executive knows (but won't tell The marijuana industry targets younger, more frequent users because they're the most likely to get And the pot industry funds lobbyists and special MARIJUANA interest groups to downplay health risks, much you) this, in turn, means targeting the young. Welcome to Big Tobacco 2.0. In the emerging marijuana industry, potent edibles in the form of colorfully packaged cookies, candies, sodas and brownies are being advertised on the Internet and in mainstream newspapers and magazines across the state. A relentless marijuana lobby insists that these products are not especially attractive to children, yet continues to block controls on advertising, labeling, shape and color. When Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper wanted to limit access to marijuana magazines containing cartoon ads and coupons for one dollar joints by placing them behind the counter out of reach of children, the industry sued and won. That was the first of many victories for the marijuana lobby, whose case is buttressed by protections of commercial speech as free speech. This is not about mom-and-pop pot stores; it's about, in the words of one "Ganjapreneur," creating "the Wal-Mart of Marijuana." And Big Tobacco is not just an analogy. According to internal documents that the govemment forced Big Tobacco to release during its historic court settlement, those companies are ready to pounce on the golden opportunity of drug legalization. It is no wonder that the parent company of Phillip Morris, Altria, recently bought the domain names "AltriaCannabis.com" and "AltriaMarijuana.com." If this sounds frightening, it should be. Big Tobacco tried for decades to conceal the harms of their drug, and millions of lives were lost as a result. We are naive to think that this wouldn't happen with any other drug that is legalized. Large "cannabusinesses" have already ushered in mass advertising and vending machines. Now with legal cannabis barely in place, they have resorted to product giveaways (really) and they are aggressively embarking on rounds of multimillion-dollar investor fundraising. In his article entitled "Big Tobacco's future as Big Marijuana," Leonid Bershidsky advises investors that, "Big Tobacco is poised to dominate" the legal cannabis market, and for that reason, "Big Tobacco may be one of the biggest opportunities of a lifetime." If this sounds familiar, it should. The tobacco and alcohol industries follow similar patterms while hawking their legal, addictive substances. And we know how that story ends: money-hungry industries, targeting the vulnerable, will stop at nothing to increase addiction and profit. Why would we want to repeat that debacle with marijuana? Source: Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM): Preventing Another Big Tobacco www.learnaboutsam.org For more information on how to encourage drug-free behavior and guide good choices,visit our website at: 20MARANA CIGARETES like BigTobacco did with cigarettes decades ago. CCSEC The Scary truth about Marijuana Commercialization 1014 1000 800 634 600 523 478 400 392 326 297 208 209 200 Colorado Washington Oregon Licensed Marijuana Dispensaries Starbucks I McDonalds PARENTS are the NUMBER ONE reason that teens don't use drugs and alcohol www.drugfreecarrollcounty.com GET THE FACTS: For information on how to talk to your kids about drugs and alcohol - if you need help talking to your teens contact the Carroll County Substance Education Coalition at 815-244-0063 or email ccsec04@gmail.com. PARENTAL GUIDANCE REQUIRED PG TALK TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT DOING DRUGS