Although Corporate America seems to be warming up to the cannabis industry, corporate cannaphobia has not yet vanished. Despite the grand economic opportunity of the cannabis industry, many other industries and companies are shunning cannabis.
This is especially the case among social media giants, such as Facebook and Instagram, who have shuttered cannabis-related accounts. Banks and insurance companies are literally turning away cannabis clients every single day. Even the education system is shunning cannabis.
All of the above has ramifications for the industry itself, for research on cannabis and on properly education users and the community as a whole.
Digital marketing has become a necessity for any successful business – but marijuana companies lack the ability to utilize many social media platforms, such as Facebook.
A lack of insurance means that if a plant gets mold, you must throw out the whole crop – and throw out all that money.
No banking means no [accurate] audits. So how do you determine how much money your business is really making? Because marijuana dispensaries operate using cash, it seems like they are rolling in the dough…after all, there is a safe full of cash sitting in front of you. Not only does this attract theft, but it also deceives dispensary owners. With all the costs, you many not actually have as much cash as you think. And what’s the point in trying to find ways to reduce your costs if you don’t realize how high they are?
But all of these factors aren’t halting or even hurting the industry. It continues to thrive and grow. Those that are still trying to hold it back, and deny that it has medical benefits and claim that it is dangerous to use, should instead see that the growth and normalization of the cannabis industry is inevitable – so it might be time to focus on education and regulation.
Ultimately cannaphobia (of all types) results in a lack of knowledge. For cannabis business owners, this translates to a lack of knowledge about one’s own business. For the rest of the community, medical patients and users, this translates to a lack of knowledge and education about the product, itself.
As a result of the marijuana stigma, and the case that it is still classified as a Schedule I Substance, there is an extreme lack of funding for marijuana research. Thus, there is an extreme lack of research. Unlike most medications, most people do not know how much cannabis to ingest, or what kind in order to treat their problem, whether it be PTSD, epilepsy or chronic pain.
In general, there is not sufficient research to strongly conclude much about marijuana; most will admit this, including the NFL scientists, and even politicians against marijuana.
However, it seems as though this stigma is beginning to change. And it is also changing in Corporate America. Just last week, this little company you may have heard of called Microsoft, partnered with a marijuana business. Other companies are beginning to use cannabis as a means of branding and advertising. Now that a few of the major players have come out and accepted the cannabis industry, others are sure to follow.
As this stigma changes, we can only hope that the government will allow more research, so we can properly educate ourselves about this growing industry, and about cannabis, itself.
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