No more cannabis company? – Tilray hard transition from cannabis to alcohol and beer?

Companies like Tilray are NOT cannabis companies

Have you heard the latest? Tilray bought Montauk! Montauk for the non-drinkers is a beer company and it’s not the first to gobble up Tilray! In fact, it’s already bought two other craft beer companies, Alpine and Green Flash, and now Montauk.

But what would a “cannabis company” want from beer companies, you might ask?

Well, the obvious suggests they’re trying to acquire distribution infrastructure by tapping adjacent markets that overlap with their target customer base. At least that’s what they want to portray in public space, or at least that’s what the average reader would conclude.

However, I suggest that these “cannabis companies” are not cannabis companies at all. They’re exactly the same corporate bloodhounds as any other industry. Using the label “cannabis company” subconsciously gives them some familiarity or resemblance to their target demo. Did you know that Tilray also bets on whiskey?

However, you won’t see any of their board members banging bong in the morning. No, this is a “different breed” of cannabis companies. To be honest, I don’t know all that much about Tilray’s culture, but what I can tell from their actions is that “the bottom line” seems to be high on their list of priorities.

These are the kind of companies that will eventually have an army of lobbyists whispering in politicians’ ears to change laws in their favor — they’re not quite there yet.

Now I want to stress something, I’m not against Tilray. Tilray as a company obviously has its own goals and is positioning itself “within the cannabis market” — but I think we, as cannabis consumers, should put a little more emphasis on whether something represents the brand or not.

Pfizer, for example, claims to be a pharmaceutical company, but doesn’t actually manufacture any drugs itself. Instead, they’re a conglomerate focused on buying up drugs and technology and repackaging them under the “Pfizer” brand—but it’s really Frankenstein’s monster.

Tilray is as much a cannabis company as Pfizer is a pharmaceutical company. Of course there will be many people who would dispute this statement, but I think it’s a solid comparison. In my opinion, for something to become a “cannabis company” there needs to be some level of “cannabisness” ingrained in the corporate culture.

That doesn’t mean everyone has to be a red-eyed hippie all the time, but it does mean that they are at least involved in the cannabis industry. Tilray is now also a beer company, so it’s more of a “truck company.” Honestly, that sounds way cooler!

Not a call to hate, but to think…

While I’m not a big fan of hardcore corporate culture, I’m not against it either. I think everyone should be able to work the way they want. The only thing I would completely eliminate from the table would be “lobbying” or “contributions to political campaigns”.

I think just like the separation of church and state, there needs to be a separation of “corporate and state.” In other words, those who regulate should not be able to receive money from those who are supposed to be regulated.

Because when that happens — you get the war on drugs, you get drug recalls, you get money laundering in legitimate banks — and all of them are protected from prosecution by the law. Why? Because they own the politicians who write the laws.

However, beyond that, I think that every company should conduct its business in the way it wants to, within reasonable limits, that respects both the environment and people.

But I also think that we have to call things as they are. Tilray isn’t a “cannabis” company, it’s just an ordinary conglomerate.

What makes a cannabis company?

I think there are degrees of classification for cannabis companies. For example, a company that grows and sells cannabis – a 100% cannabis company. A company that buys cannabis from a supplier, turns it into a product and sells it – a 100% cannabis company.

However, a company that does all the bookkeeping for cannabis companies – NOT a cannabis company. They are “cannabis-neighbouring”.

However, Tilray trades in cannabis products. They grow it, they ship it, they package it, they research it. I don’t know, maybe it’s just my own personal biases that make me see their actions in a darker light – but there are plenty of companies that hijack the good name “cannabis” to bolster their brand.

And that’s what I’m really grumbling about — maybe Tilray itself isn’t my problem, but stealing money from rich people who haven’t endured the struggles stoners have endured. Dodge law enforcement, get labeled as criminals — and then coke-sniffing yuppies step in when it’s “legal,” calling themselves “cannabis brands.”

I know about this because I’ve worked with several of these people. They get in for the money and don’t care about the people. I think as a cannabis business owner you have to have a bit of humanity in you – and I’m not sure how many people there are in these corporations when it comes to “human skills”.

Purism vs. progress

Maybe I’m a purist. I’ve been part of the cannabis world for over two decades now. I’ve been writing about it for over ten years and have done my part to educate people about the world of cannabis. The culture, the plant, the people.

Maybe I’m just too puristic and can’t see the “big plan” behind it. Maybe Tilray is just the evolution of what will become of cannabis companies.

But as a consumer, do you have the power to choose where you spend your money? I’d like to think so… and with that power, you can hold corporations accountable.

So harness the power of your wallet, and if a “cannabis company” doesn’t live by the cannabis ethos – just stop spending money on it and let others know why.

When enough people do this, companies collapse because they only exist if you let them.

MORE ABOUT OTHER TILRAY COMPANIES, READ MORE..

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