Parvati Magazine February 2014 - Sobriety | Page 30
BUSINESS
HIGH
On Capitol Hill?
M
any Americans and Canadians support legalization of marijuana and many states
already permit medicinal use. It seems that an end to the criminalization of weed
would generate billions in tax revenue and relieve the criminal justice system. This is a business column and not a politics column, so I will not wade into the debate on decriminalization. I will say that as an individual, marijuana use is not something I choose to endorse,
and as a business person, it is not something from which I would seek to profit. I think that
part of our calling in practicing awakened, positive possibilities business is a deep sobriety
about the economies we choose to engage in and the effects they have in our world.
For example, there is a co-op store here in Toronto called The Big Carrot that refuses to
sell anything containing genetically modified organisms, even though that no doubt limits
what they can purchase and make available to customers. Many coffee shops choose to
pay more for “fair trade” beans grown by people paid fairly for their work.
Medicinal marijuana is definitely a vast and fast growing business. The state of Colorado
is going through an economic boom, in part due to the explosion of start up pot shops.
In 2009 Boulder opened its first medicinal marijuana dispensary. Four years later, Boulder
now has 32 dispensaries and 37 cultivation facilitates licensed to do business in a city with
a population of only 101,808. Given such a massive growth rate and boost to the economy, it is highly probable that the 19 other states will also increase their business revenues
through the cultivation and sale of medicinal marijuana.
The question is, is this really an awakened direction for business or government to pursue?
BUSINESS
With most of the United
States running a deficit
government and the
economy at what many
would say are crisis levels
I can understand why a
government would look
for new ways to balance
its budget and inject life
into its business sector.
Clearly, legal marijuana
shops seem to make immediate financial sense.
But just as the coff ee
shop could buy non
fair trade beans more
cheaply, the apparent
bottom line is not the
whole story.
For a government to gain
income from a product
that is currently black
market may seem like a
good idea, but is it truly
appropriate to be powering and profiting from the
sale of a substance that
is linked to addiction and
whose widespread use is
far beyond any possible
medical rationalization?
Could the economy not
be strengthened in ways
that do not involve taking the money of people
who may be seeking to
escape the moment any
way they can? Could
there not be more sober,
bright and innovative ideas out there? What about
encouraging investment
in technology or focusing on rebuilding the next
generation of renewable
resource motor manufacturing sector? What
about finding a way to
reset the mortgage rates
crippling so many homeowners in America?
Could there not
be more sober,
bright and
innovative
ideas out there?
How does medicinal marijuana gain the approval
of the Senate while the
same governing body
is trying to shut down
the sale of vitamins and
other alternative natural
remedies that are not
associated with addiction or getting high? If the
government’s motivation
in legalizing marijuana
is the well-being of the
people, then the government should be equally
advocating the removal
of ingestible carcinogens
such as GMOs, pesticides
and food additives, and
taking stronger sanctions
against businesses that
pollute our air and waterways. This does not seem
to be the case, and businesses and citizens alike
owe it to themselves to
soberly ask why.
If legalizing the business
of growing and selling
marijuana is the best
that the US congress can
come up with to revitalize America’s business
sector, then perhaps
holding a position high
up on Capitol Hill does
indeed mean being
high on Capitol Hill. I look
forward to the day when
sober, awakened business practice is the norm
on Wall Street and Capitol Hill alike.
Since 1994, Rishi Gerald, founder and CEO of RishiVision and
entrepreneurial coach, has empowered thousands of businesses. Rishi
has an MBA in marketing and entrepreneurial studies and a BBA in
accounting. He has spent nearly twenty years coaching, consulting,
managing and supporting thousands of businesses from new start ups to
active global leaders.
For more information on Rishi, please visit www.rishivision.com.