Alcohol US lobby opposes the possibility of the use of cannabis for medical purposes
Alcoholic and US pharmaceutical companies are investing heavily in support of the movement against legalizing the use of medical cannabis, fearing the loss of market share of their business.
Along with pharmacologists producing synthetic cannabis, contributing its share of the financing of the resistance hemp reform, the fight against the legalization of the use of psychoactive cannabis for medical purposes joined by representatives of the beer lobby. According to the hemp market operators group of companies made the beer industry is one of the largest donations in the organization of the fund set up to counter the legalization of medical cannabis use in Massachusetts. Affiliate representing 16 companies for beer distribution in Massachusetts, won the unofficial third place in the ranking of the organizations sponsoring the opposition hemp reform by donating an amount of $ 25,000 in the "Campaign for a safe and healthy Massachusetts."
Representatives of "The Boston Beer Company" claimed to investors that laws allowing "the sale and distribution of therapeutic cannabis may" adversely affect "on the demand produced by the beer," The Brown-Forman Company "(producer of whiskey Jack Daniel's and Finlandia vodka) warned that there are several factors that can touch up on the idea of customers buying goods of a different kind than their alcoholic brands.
Experts' opinions on this issue diverge significantly. For example, a professor of economics at the University of Colorado, Daniel Reese says that as soon as the consumer will be able to replace the alcohol recreational cannabis - he immediately take advantage of it. And according to CEO Paul Brown-Forman Varga "the emerging draft legalizing the use of psychoactive cannabis for medical purposes is a major threat to the alcohol market." At the same time, evidence shows that, since the state of Colorado to legitimize the use of psychoactive cannabis for medical purposes in 2012, the statistics of sales of alcoholic beverages has not changed.
It should be noted that not all representatives of the alcohol industry in fear of losing part of its product sales area to oppose the legalization of the use of cannabis for medical purposes. Some breweries welcome bills proposing to ease restrictions associated with the cultivation, processing, and use of a psychoactive and industrial hemp.
The position of manufacturers of alcohol can be reduced to the following thesis: considering the option of legalizing the use of psychoactive cannabis for medical purposes throughout the United States, you must provide for the inevitable reality in the form of changes not only in the tourism, entertainment and food industry, but also in the field of sales of alcoholic beverages.
Comment of the Association "Ukrainian industrial hemp"
In the process of lobbying for the bill under which provides for the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes in our country, it is necessary to consider the possible opposition to its adoption of the national pharmaceutical and alcohol lobby.
Information taken from the site http://tku.org.ua