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Big Pharma's anti-marijuana stance aims to squash the competition, activists say
Source: The Guardian
Big Pharma's anti-marijuana stance aims to squash the competition, activists say
Pharmaceutical company Insys spent $500,000 to block legalization
in Arizona. Five months later it won approval for a cannabis-derived
medical drug
Sam Levin in San Francisco
Monday 3 April 2017 12.00 BST
As marijuana legalization swept the US in November, Arizona was alone in its rejection of legal weed. There, a pharmaceutical company called Insys was a major backer of the successful campaign to stop the state’s recreational cannabis measure, publicly arguing that pot businesses would be bad for public health and endanger children.
But to marijuana activists, the motive of Insys was clear – to squash the competition.
Confirming those suspicions, Insys has now received approval from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to develop its own synthetic marijuana, the latest case of Big Pharma battling small cannabis growers.
With marijuana now legal in more than half of the US, the budding cannabis industry and longtime underground players have grown increasingly concerned about the threat posed by powerful pharmaceutical manufacturers, which have simultaneously helped fight legalization while seeking to develop their own synthetic cannabis.
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Pharmaceutical company Insys spent $500,000 to block legalization
in Arizona. Five months later it won approval for a cannabis-derived
medical drug
Sam Levin in San Francisco
Monday 3 April 2017 12.00 BST
As marijuana legalization swept the US in November, Arizona was alone in its rejection of legal weed. There, a pharmaceutical company called Insys was a major backer of the successful campaign to stop the state’s recreational cannabis measure, publicly arguing that pot businesses would be bad for public health and endanger children.
But to marijuana activists, the motive of Insys was clear – to squash the competition.
Confirming those suspicions, Insys has now received approval from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to develop its own synthetic marijuana, the latest case of Big Pharma battling small cannabis growers.
With marijuana now legal in more than half of the US, the budding cannabis industry and longtime underground players have grown increasingly concerned about the threat posed by powerful pharmaceutical manufacturers, which have simultaneously helped fight legalization while seeking to develop their own synthetic cannabis.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/03/big-pharma-marijuana-competition-insys-arizona