Amazon is officially a registered cannabis lobbyist

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Whether you are indifferent or passionately loathe Jeff Bezos’ mega-corporation, which emits as much carbon dioxide as the country of Norway, there is no doubt that Amazon’s mega-bucks made a difference in lobbying for federal cannabis laws to be passed in the country USA could do United States.

For this reason, we issued reluctant applause (and a dramatic roll of our eyes) when Cannabis Wire spread the news that the company was officially lobbying on Wednesday on “Justice related issues related to the Equal Opportunities Act (HR 5 / p. 393) “Registered in the Policing Act (HR 1280) and the Marijuana Reform, including the MORE Act of 2021 (HR 3617).”

In June, the company arguably became the mainstream company in the world supporting the legalization of cannabis when it announced a (slight) change of heart in its cannabis policy. In a statement, Amazon stopped drug testing for new employees (other than those who operate heavy machinery).

The company also pledged to actively support the MORE Act, a proposed law to legalize cannabis that is likely to be rendered obsolete by Senate Democrats’ announcement of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act last week.

“I think if Amazon were able to politically support federal reform and fund efforts at the state level, it would be a net gain for the cannabis reform movement in this country,” said Matthew Schweich, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project, recently said Politico .

The same Politico article reports that the Drug Policy Alliance, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), and cannabis giant Canopy Growth Inc. all held meetings with Amazon officials this summer.

Those links would mean the company is earnestly trying to come up with a plan to influence politicians to support weed legalization at the federal level.

Amazons and Bezos’ massive space-colonizing fortune could certainly come in handy in convincing Republican politicians – and even some Democrats, ahem, Mr. President – that the time has come for recreational and medicinal cannabis legalize. After all, 90 percent of the United States’ population is in favor of legalization. Not to mention, 18 states and Washington DC now have adult marijuana laws, with 37 states enjoying some form of access to medical marijuana. So obviously it is time!

However, there are certainly few of us who believe that Amazon is spending resources out of sheer altruism to end the cannabis arm of the drug war. Many have suggested the company might try to get into the weed business at some point, though company officials have denied such assumptions.

“There have been many concerns that they might try to improve the ability of small businesses to thrive in this area, so this is definitely something we are looking for,” said Morgan Fox, the association’s national cannabis industry media director, said Politico.

Finally, when legalizing cannabis, it is important to remember that the question is no longer whether to do it, but how to do it. Is a mega-corporation like Amazon likely to advocate green industry regulations or protections for stocks and small cannabis companies? Time will tell what an ally the world’s fourth largest corporation proves to be in weeds.