American essayist and author Charles Dudley Warner once said, “Politics makes strange bedfellows.” This may be more true now than ever—it seems increasingly likely that one will find themselves working with someone they find horrific if it’s politically valuable to do so.
For decades, the cannabis industry existed entirely in an unregulated marketplace. It had no political voice or clout because everyone involved was breaking numerous city, state, and federal laws. (Banking mad stacks and having a great time, mind you, except for the incarceration thing.)
Thankfully, that has changed, and the industry now pays enough taxes—so, so many taxes—that it’s earned a seat at the political table, and has begun the process of navigating how a bill becomes a law. For many, this means swallowing hard and joining forces with some people whose beliefs are reprehensible. And while I want all the children of the world to join hands and sing in the spirit of harmony and peace, at what cost do we make moral compromises when dealing with conservatives?
Not to paint with too broad a brush, but the majority of people involved in cannabis are progressives. And while there’s been a fair share of Democrats who haven’t done cannabis any real favors (California senator Dianne Feinstein, I’m looking at you), most of the (drug) war crimes have come from the GOP. Not just impotent crapweasel trolls such as Attorney General Jeff Sessions, but human grease fires of hate like Ann Coulter, who said in late July, “Marijuana makes people retarded, especially when they’re young. We’ve got enough busboys. We’re bringing in busboys by the million through our immigration policy. We do not need a country of busboys. We’re destroying the country.” (On so many levels... just NO.)
Which brings me to an upcoming event taking place in Los Angeles and Boston—the Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition (CWCBE)—which is experiencing a mass exodus of sponsors, speakers, and vendors due to its booking of Darth Sidious-like cyst Roger Stone as a keynote speaker.