Billionaire Charles Koch will fund lobbying efforts to legalize marijuana nationwide

If the marijuana legalization movement has always been missing one thing, it is money. Sure, the ancestors of the industry managed to beg, borrow, and scrape up tons of money to make the cannabis growing and selling business look like part of the American trade. But even if it has managed to become a multi-billion dollar business sector in the last decade, it doesn’t have the money it takes to sway lawmakers – the Greens to get things done.

One could argue that the cannabis industry’s failure to pay off the lawsuits on Capitol Hill is mainly why Congress still legalized the paper at the national level.

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However, all of that seems to be changing. The cannabis industry is now being endowed with leverage, power and, perhaps most importantly, the money to get anti-pot politicians on both sides of the aisle to pay attention. Most recently, billionaire Charles Koch spoke out in favor of legalizing marijuana at the federal level.

In one (n interview Speaking to Forbes, the 85-year-old Koch Industries CEO said that not only was he behind the legalization efforts, but he was also contributing $ 25 million of his own money to it. The actual amount of these much-needed lobbying funds will approach $ 70 million over the next two years, according to the news source.

Koch, founder of Americans for Prosperity and the recently formed Cannabis Freedom Alliance, believes that people should have the right to choose. “[Prohibition] is counterproductive. It ruins people’s lives, creates conflict in society and is against progress. The whole thing never made sense to me. “

RELATED: Will Schumer’s Marijuana Legalization Bill Pass Before End Of 2021?

It’s not supernatural why Koch, now a libertarian, is suddenly interested in legalizing marijuana. Last year, the tycoon claimed that after years of dumping millions into conservative politics, he was turning to more important issues like poverty, gang violence, homelessness, addiction and relapse, according to an interview in the Wall Street Journal. In addition, Koch confessed in his book Believe in People: Bottom-Up Solutions for a Top-Down World that he was disappointed in himself because he supported the split in party politics.

“Boy did we screw it up!” he wrote. “What a mess!”

Legal marijuana could aid part of Koch’s newfound focus. It will create thousands of new jobs, add to the economy, take the weed business off the streets and prevent otherwise law-abiding citizens from going to jail.

Illinois Pot Offenders How You Can Get rid of your marijuana misdemeanorPhoto by FatCamera / Getty Images

We have seen this at some level in states that have changed their pot laws. Even his company Koch Industries, which has a strong hand in agriculture, would not be harmed by the end of Prohibition. Regardless of his reasons for standing behind weed, Koch’s willingness to leverage his finances and vast network of politicians and business leaders is inevitably a sign that the cannabis cause is about to make significant headway.

Noa Kahner, founder of Kahner Global, one of the leading investment conferences in North America, told The Fresh Toast that Koch’s involvement will make a difference. “This is yet another example of mainstream culture and leaders pushing aside old false issues with marijuana and embracing legalization. You will see another boom in the market, ”she said.

RELATED: Federal marijuana legalization could mimic the end of the alcohol ban

Marijuana legalization is finally getting much-needed attention on Capitol Hill. Last month, Senate majority leader Schumer tabled a proposal to end the nationwide cannabis ban, which is now open to public comment. Schumer needs 60 votes in the Senate to present a bill that he does not currently have. However, it could be argued that Koch’s influence and lobbying cash might convince both Democrats and Republicans who are still on the fence to offer their support.

“[The Koch’s] seem to focus on the individual’s right to consume something that is much less dangerous than other legal products like alcohol and tobacco, and seem to acknowledge the failure of the drug war in that regard, “said David N. Feldman, Partner Hiller PC- and skip-intro consultant. “This is one of several recent developments that are giving Republicans more” cover “to aid in legalization.”

Interestingly, he accidentally made Fox News less of an enemy as Koch withdrew from conservative politics and went into full swing legalizing marijuana. The money once used by the Koch brothers to help conservatives; Dollars earlier Hire presenters of popular Fox news Programs to speak at Americans for Prosperity events will now advance marijuana legalization at the federal level.

RELATED: Marijuana is bipartisan, but that doesn’t mean government legalization is a safe bet

Speaking of Fox News, there has been a more balanced dialogue about cannabis lately than it has in the past. We use the term “better” because to say that Fox News now has a balanced narrative about marijuana is so far from the truth that it’s not even funny. After all, in a recent episode of “Fox and Friends “, accused the host the increase in gunfights in Washington DC for cannabis-induced psychosis. On the other hand, Geraldo Rivera only used the platform to Request for legalization “Everywhere in every corner of this country, any kind of marijuana you want.”

Koch believes his presence in the cannabis scene will result in statewide legalization by the end of 2021.

We will see.

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