John Boehner pledged eternal support for imprisoning marijuana users, now he's in the legal weed business

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/04/11/wtf-is-he-smoking.html

4 Likes

Dupe. But again, good. I can’t stand hypocrisy, but I’ll allow it if reduces authoritarianism.

5 Likes

It’s been done. @orenwolf

https://boingboing.net/2018/04/11/former-gop-house-speaker-john.html

STEPWISE EVOLUTION

  1. You can’t consume or sell that, it’s against the law.
  2. You can’t consume or sell that, it’s against the law (unless you’re the right kind of person).
  3. This commercial sector is now open for (big) business.
  4. You can’t consume or sell that, you’re infringing upon the protected copyright and patents of CBD MegaCorp Inc.
10 Likes

That last part really won’t be an issue with weed. That’s like saying no one can compete with Budweiser.

Nice

2 Likes

That’s not a bad comparison. Especially when you remember that the American beer market is dominated by a few large corporations that work hard to limit the access that smaller players have to the market, and selling homebrew is illegal without a federal license. I expect the market for marijuana to go the same way.

Given the disproportionate market reach that big corporations are likely to have, maybe they won’t need to use commercial law to discourage informal competition. But I’m willing to bet that they’ll invest quite a lot of money in lobbying for laws designed to make sure that distribution of home-grown weed doesn’t become too easy or convenient.

They don’t need to completely eliminate the competition, they just need to arrange things so that a majority of people will find it easier to reach for a pack of Boehner’s Buzz Bud at the convenience store than go through the trouble of growing their own or buying from their next-door neighbor.

6 Likes

uP4cuEW

5 Likes

I said in High School that if they made weed legal that the average drug dealer and supplier would have to get new jobs, because no one is going to be able to compete with Phillip Morris selling them at Walmart.

Yeah, I know, big corporations bad, but cheap booze and weed is a “good” thing. Er… sorta? Anyway…

There is a reason why home brews need licenses, and that is the health and safety issues. I mean, we still have people drinking raw milk and eating bathtub cheese, but for the most part when it comes to ingesting things, there needs to be certain standards of safety.

That said, there are SOOOO many small and medium sized brews out there now it makes ones’ heads spin. Granted in some cases these are larger companies with smaller subsidiaries, but there are thousands of little micro brews all around the nation. Do they compete against Bud Lite or Pabst price point wise? No. But they do compete in other areas due to their taste or novelty or what have you.

While I am not a weed user, knowing what I know, I don’t see how weed will be different. I am sure the early adopters will get a leg up over the big corporations with both ability to make good weed, and brand loyalty. But even if 10 or 20 years from now over half the market is being produced by big companies, I don’t see the smaller growers ever going away totally. Just like beer or scotch or wine or what ever, there are people willing to pay more for something different or perceived to be “better”.

And I am fine with that. I mean, if you have a vice, may as well make it cheap if you can’t afford the good stuff. And more importantly mom or pop, or big company, we are getting rid of the black market for the stuff and the criminal element that goes along with it.

TL;DR - I think this world is big enough for the both of them.

3 Likes

I usd to be utterly opposed to legalisation in my 20s because it was ours, and I didn’t want suits in control of it. Turns out I wasn’t far off the mark, then. huh.

3 Likes

Those people are still going to “own” it. But let’s face it, this is a billion dollar ++ industry. There are already people like Tommy Chong making a comfortable living on paraphernalia and selling the lifestyle. Even if they are wearing tie dye instead of suits, it will eventually shake out that the successful ones will own a large piece of the pie. This is with out any other company buying them out or deciding to enter the arena.

I just wish I was rich. I’d open a bank for these people in Colorado and make money hand over fist. Yes, I know we would be taking a risk, but it is a risk I’d gamble on. But I am not rich so…

3 Likes

Yeah, well, I was an angry punk who lived in a bus at the time :smiley:

4 Likes

Were you in the Navy and lived in Hutchinson KS with a gal and your love child?

1 Like

Perhaps more like he wishes to see his portfolio evolve.

2 Likes

Them boys have ‘upgraded’ from mere paraphernalia

https://www.cheechsprivatestash.com/

2 Likes

And that’s not even his final form!

6 Likes

And this is the sonofabitch who stole a Supreme Court nomination from a sitting President.

{Thanks to @fnordius for setting me straight on which asshole did what. I stand by the rest of the post, however. }

In an ideal world, his transparent, mercenary hypocrisy would cause him (and his party) to lose followers in droves.

But this is far from an ideal world…

Fuck Boehner, fuck him to death with no mercy.

He is a catastrophically evil person who continues to profit from his utter lack of integrity.

La illaha il Dollar as the GOP version of the shahada goes

I hope that in the emerging recreational weed market, consumers are made aware of what companies source from Acreage Holdings and avoid this sonofabitch’s product like the plague.

2 Likes

That was Mich McConnell, Boehner had already quit in disgust before that and let Paul Ryan take over.

Brought to you by the Asshole Field Guide.

5 Likes