The former President of Mexico says legalized marijuana is a paradigmatic change, yet greediness could take the Industry down towards a negative path
According to the former Mexican President Vicente Fox, investors, entrepreneurs, and businesses in the evolving cannabis industry should be able to set the pace for the industry by behaving ethically — otherwise, the entire cannabis industry is destined for failure.
According to a recent interview carried out by Business insider Fox said the legalization of marijuana is a “paradigmatic shift.”
Fox is currently a member of the board of directors of Khiron Life Sciences which is a Canadian based medical cannabis company which has valuable activities in Colombia. Fox said that he has dealt with problems relating to the legalization of marijuana for over a decade since he left office through his foundation, Centro Fox.
According to a statement from Fox, “If the cannabis industry don’t act in an ethical way, or if the cannabis industry doesn’t act in a responsible manner, and if the Mexican government plans on becoming greedy and only considers the profits and money from the cannabis industry, then marijuana legalization will not work, it will fail.
In January, Attorney General Jeff Sessions revoked the Obama-era protections also called the Cole Memo, for the US cannabis industry, giving the state prosecutors a chance to enforce federal law. According to a recent interview with former top Justice Department official James Cole, who wrote the memo, the Justice Department led by Sessions could crack down on marijuana companies who are linearly in and out of compliance with the laws of the state by giving minors the chance to buy marijuana or fudging their taxes.
Medical marijuana has been legalized in some form in 30 US states, and another nine states, such as California, permit the use of marijuana by adults. The legalization of marijuana in Canada made it become to become the first Group of Seven country to federally legalize marijuana when the law becomes effective on the 17th of October.
According to a prediction by Fox, in 2019, Mexico will become the next country to legalize cannabis for adults, once the new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, takes charge. The legalization of cannabis could reduce the profits made by drug cartels and decrease the violence related to drugs in Mexico.
The quickly evolving marijuana regulations have led to the rise of a brand-new legal cannabis industry, alongside publicly-traded organizations and dedicated investment funds in search of billion-dollar deals with established companies. An analyst from Wall Street has predicted that legal marijuana will rise to a $47 billion industry in the US alone over the next 10 years and could evolve to a $200 billion industry internationally, as more medical and recreational markets are being established.
All countries are looking forward to Canada to set the pace for other countries to follow with developing regulations around legalized marijuana. Fox foresees a future in which cannabis will be incorporated in NAFTA, similar to the telecom and automobile industries.
Fox finally said that the only way the marijuana industry can gain assistance is by being very strict, very experienced, and very principled.
