Hey, Bogart!
"Look, we all know that the use of medical marijuana is not limited to terminal cancer patients. You just go to the doctor. You tell him you have a pain here...or there. He prescribes you weed. If not, you get a different doctor."People don't like to see young people smoking pot because they think it stunts their growth. I mean intellectually. And their careers. Marijuana seems to slow them down."But it's not young people who are driving this trend. It's older people. They tried it when they were young. And now they've got plenty of aches and pains. And they know marijuana can help them. And it won't do them any harm. This market is huge. And it's growing...well...like a weed."
"You're aware of our smoking policy?" asked the desk clerk."No," we replied. "Is smoking prohibited or obligatory?""Huh? Oh...you're not allowed to smoke anywhere in the hotel.""Does that apply to medical marijuana as well as to tobacco?""Uh...you're joking, right?""Right."
"You have probably never heard of Bart Mackay, a 57-year-old Las Vegas lawyer who works on various ventures like Dot Vegas, which operates the Vegas top-level domain. But on paper, Mackay is the first pot-stock billionaire."Mackay's holdings in CannaVest, which bills itself as the world's leading hemp-based investment company, are valued at $1.8 billion. That figure might seem like a drug-induced hallucination, but it's technically true. CannaVest is the top-performing stock in America in 2014 with a market capitalization greater than $1 billion."Its thinly-traded shares, which change hands on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board, or "pink sheets," have soared by 680% in the last year. They are already up more than 300% in 2014. The average daily volume of about 10,900 shares has been light this year, but someone is buying the stock and the $117 it closed at on Friday makes Mackay the world's first pot stock billionaire thanks to his 15.7 million shares in CannaVest."
"It's all about control and money, not freedom. It will be heavily licensed, regulated and taxed. There will be a lot of money in it...it's like the liquor business when they got rid of prohibition."If you legalized pot, prices would collapse. Nobody wants that. What they're really doing is shifting the margins from the smugglers and dope dealers to the government."You'll be able to get pot...without worrying about going to jail or associating with shady characters. The quality is much higher than the stuff we smoked in college. And the people in the business – licensed producers, wholesalers and retailers – will make a lot of money. So will the government. Everybody will be happy."We heard an example recently: Dad (67-years-old) was plagued all his life by depression. Practically ruined his life. Then a woman at his church – at church! – introduced him to marijuana."Now, he smokes dope...and he's fine."