Cannabis hedge funds join the green rush

Entrepreneurs and investors work to leverage the legalization of marijuana into a windfall
Los Angeles Times (US)
Saturday, November 15, 2014

cannabis-capitalismThe pot business is exploding. The devotees toiling away since states started legalizing medical marijuana nearly 20 years ago now must compete in a radically different business culture. The rapid spread of laws permitting recreational pot is enticing hedge fund managers, venture capitalists, software developers and many others to get in on what inevitably is being touted as a green rush. Pot critics say the thirst for high returns has the marijuana industry starting to resemble Big Tobacco, with profit-hungry companies using the kind of marketing imagery and sales tactics that entice children and glamorize drug use. (See also: Cannabis legalization doesn’t have to mean commercialization)