Many people are celebrating the potential of Hemp becoming legal across the U.S. In the meantime, there is much movement behind the scenes. Some of the latest news is regarding one of the world’s largest tobacco manufacturers, Phillip Morris. The parent company of Philip Morris, Altria, is “reportedly” in current dialogue with Cronos about a possible takeover.
While Altria is focused primarily on tobacco products, Cronos is a Canadian cannabis cultivator. In recent years the sales of cigarette products such as the one offered by Altria and Philip Morris like the popular Marlboro brand have drastically decreased.
At the same time. over half of the states in the United States have taken steps to allow for a legal medical cannabis market and 10 states have also legalized the retail sales of cannabis for adults over the age of 21.
The Cannabis industry is expected to grow by billions of dollars in the next few decades. Considering that, it’s only natural to think that big tobacco would somehow want in on it.
In the United States, the federal government persists on having a draconian prohibition stay intact. Our neighbors to the north though recently embraced adult cannabis legalization in addition to their already existing medical cannabis program.
At this time, “No agreement has been reached with respect to any such transaction and there can be no assurance such discussions will lead to an investment or other transaction involving the companies,” according to the official Altria press office.
What Could This Mean?
What could this mean for the future of the cannabis industry? Do consumers need to worry that if Altria does merge into the cannabis space that they will do the same thing to natural cannabis as they have to tobacco and add hundreds of chemicals to it?
At this time, it is hard to tell. However, you can be sure that this is a story that we will be following closely here at Excessively.net. What do you think this means? Would you support this merger? Let us know in the comments below or give us a shout out on social media!
