Starbucks: good... Marijuana: bad
Howard Schultz is widely revered in business circles for taking a tiny coffee shop and turning it into Starbucks (2005 revenue – over $6 billion U.S. dollars). Print and TV magazines crawl all over themselves trying to get an interview with him.
The vast majority of Americans are not in favor of jailing anyone for possession of small amounts of marijuana (stay with me here, I’ll get back to Starbucks in a bit). In fact, based on the reactions I see when I explain the potential draconian consequences of a drug conviction to first time marijuana offender clients here in Austin, I’d venture to guess that most folks would be appalled to find out what could happen, even if it usually doesn’t. (Fortunately, there are usually creative ways to avoid convictions on first time offenses – but my point is about the penalty range, and the collateral consequences.)
Yet despite the public’s generally negative reaction to incarcerating marijuana users, I’ve also found a substantial number of people who say they are for decriminalization “for simple possession”, or “for users but not for dealers”. (Here’s where we get back to Starbucks.)
Why is it that when the business man sells coffee, and makes an obscene profit off of it at that, we applaud and wish we had his idea first?
But when we read today’s story that three folks were arrested for possession of thirty pounds of marijuana in Hays County, we react very differently…(they are facing ten years in prison)
If you believe that it’s “OK” for a guy to sit on his couch, not bother anyone, and smoke a few grams of marijuana in a joint, then you can’t be offended when you find out the guy down the street who sold it to him has a pound. Or that the guy who sold it to the guy down the street has thirty pounds or even more. That’s how a business supply chain works after all.
We live in a supply and demand country, and 99% of the time, we deify the entrepreneur who profits greatly. It’s about time we drop the hypocrisy and eliminate the ridiculous penalties when it comes to marijuana and controlled substance businessmen.
