{"id":4210,"date":"2018-12-09T02:55:44","date_gmt":"2018-12-09T02:55:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4210"},"modified":"2020-05-09T23:42:13","modified_gmt":"2020-05-09T23:42:13","slug":"i-toldja-big-tobacco-looks-to-get-into-the-pot-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4210","title":{"rendered":"I toldja! Big Tobacco looks to get into the pot business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Marlboro Head<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I toldja! I toldja!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew this would happen. In fact, to be honest, I’m surprised it took this long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As marijuana becomes legal in more and more of the U.S., I knew sooner or later Big Tobacco would look to get into the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure enough, a bunch of huge stories came out this week that Altria … the parent company of Philip Morris, makers of Marlboros, is investing $1.8 billion in Cronos,<\/a> a Canadian marijuana company. And as we all know, marijuana was legalized across ALL of Canada a couple of months ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 80 million people in the U.S. live in states where marijuana is now legal. Add that to the 36 million of so people in Canada … that’s a lot of legal marijuana users. And that number is just going to continue to grow as more and more states figure out that keeping pot illegal is not just stupid but also a waste of a BIG potential tax source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, tobacco sales in the U.S. have been in decline for decades. Big Tobacco is being forced to diversify … by pouring more energy in developing tobacco markets in the Third World, by investing in e-cigarettes (though the future of e-cigs is now in doubt with new FDA regulations being proposed) and now pot. It was totally predictable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My biggest concern about Big Tobacco getting their beak wet in the pot industry is my fear that they’ll pull the same underhanded, amoral crap with pot that they’ve pulled with marijuana for decades. For instance, I could totally see Big Tobacco artificially adding nicotine into marijuana to make it physically addictive like cigarettes. (And then acting all “Moi? Not us!” before Congressional committees about it). Think of it. The pure, amoral genius of it. The most addictive substance in the world added … to marijuana. They would do it, too. They totally would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest worries about legalizing pot was allowing big corporations to take over the pot industry. I remember an article<\/a> from a year or two ago worrying that the beer industry would get involved in pot. Honestly, that doesn’t scare me nearly as much as Altria or any tobacco company getting their paws on it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I toldja! I toldja! I knew this would happen. In fact, to be honest, I’m surprised it took this long. As marijuana becomes legal in more and more of the U.S., I knew sooner or later Big Tobacco would look to get into the game.  Sure enough, a bunch of huge stories came out this … Continue reading I toldja! Big Tobacco looks to get into the pot business<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,38],"tags":[581,601],"class_list":["post-4210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-altria","category-marijuana","tag-altria","tag-marijuana"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/MW-GP775_marlbo_ZH_20180910110206.jpg?fit=890%2C501&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4hpEa-15U","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4213,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4213","url_meta":{"origin":4210,"position":0},"title":"Altria now trying to buy into Juuls","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"December 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, this was as predictable as the day is long. I wrote a few days ago about how Altria is expanding its business to marijuana. Altria, which already owns the e-cigarette brand MarkTen, is now making a move to buy into the biggest e-cigarette brand out there, Juul. It's interesting.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Juul"","block_context":{"text":"Juul","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=908"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/altria-considers-stake-in-juulfc.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/altria-considers-stake-in-juulfc.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/altria-considers-stake-in-juulfc.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/altria-considers-stake-in-juulfc.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3104,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3104","url_meta":{"origin":4210,"position":1},"title":"USA TODAY story: Does Big Tobacco desire the marijuana market?","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"April 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I wrote about this a few weeks ago, but here is another article on the same subject from USA Today -- the fear that Big Tobacco will take over the legal marijuana business. Most legal marijuana businesses in Colorado, Washington and Oregon are small mom-and-pop operations. And they are heavily\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Tobacco"","block_context":{"text":"Big Tobacco","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/legalweed.jpg?fit=660%2C371&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/legalweed.jpg?fit=660%2C371&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/legalweed.jpg?fit=660%2C371&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3751,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3751","url_meta":{"origin":4210,"position":2},"title":"Philip Morris International earnings, revenue down … big time","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"February 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Great story! Philip Morris International's earnings and revenue are dropping, dropping faster than forecast by the company. Philip Morris is a spin-off from Altria, which handles Philip Morris' domestic production of cigarettes. According to several stories I came across, Philip Morris' \u00a0revenues dropped 11 percent at the end of 2015,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Philip Morris Interntional"","block_context":{"text":"Philip Morris Interntional","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=755"},"img":{"alt_text":"PMI","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/PMI.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2687,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2687","url_meta":{"origin":4210,"position":3},"title":"Could Big Tobacco evolve into Big Pot?","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"November 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm glad someone did an article on this (NBC News) because frankly, this is something I've been wondering about myself for the past couple of years. With a total of four states now with legal marijuana (Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska), might the day come when pot sales will be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Tobacco"","block_context":{"text":"Big Tobacco","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/marlboro-pot.jpg?fit=840%2C530&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/marlboro-pot.jpg?fit=840%2C530&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/marlboro-pot.jpg?fit=840%2C530&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/marlboro-pot.jpg?fit=840%2C530&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3706,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3706","url_meta":{"origin":4210,"position":4},"title":"California researchers fear legalization of pot could create the next Big Tobacco","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"February 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"An interesting story about a report put out by California State University, San Francisco (co-authored by anti-tobacco advocate Stanton Glantz) warning that legalized marijuana could become the next \"Big Tobacco\" because it would create a massive, wealthy and politically powerful economic behemoth. Here is a copy of the 66-page report.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Tobacco"","block_context":{"text":"Big Tobacco","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/california2016.jpg?fit=640%2C383&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/california2016.jpg?fit=640%2C383&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/california2016.jpg?fit=640%2C383&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4221,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4221","url_meta":{"origin":4210,"position":5},"title":"It’s official, Juul is now a subsidiary of Philip Morris, ie Altria","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"December 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The tobacco industry will sell you the disease and now will sell you the cure. This came out a couple of weeks ago and apparently this week it became official. Juul, those cutesey little e-cigs that plug into laptop computer and look just like a flash drive, came to completely\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Dora-and-Juul.jpg?fit=1200%2C506&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Dora-and-Juul.jpg?fit=1200%2C506&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Dora-and-Juul.jpg?fit=1200%2C506&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Dora-and-Juul.jpg?fit=1200%2C506&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Dora-and-Juul.jpg?fit=1200%2C506&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}