In the legal weed business, how deep does the “Suits vs. Stoners” schism run?
Businesspeople and activists are both committed to ending prohibition — but their motivations are fundamentally different
The Influence (US)
Monday, May 16, 2016
Monday, May 16, 2016
Cultural conflict rumbles within a nascent industry that was once a countercultural, underground operation. As fancy dispensaries and stylish products proliferate, many in the industry are calling to “rebrand cannabis” and “shed the stoner stigma.” Those calls rub some people the wrong way. “Some of us take a little bit of an insult to it,” says Russ Belville, a cannabis activist who hosts a show on cannabisradio.com. “[It’s] as if who and what we are is somehow a negative.” Businesspeople couch their calls for legalization in terms of returns, while activists speak of the issue in terms of civil rights.
