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Marlboro owner Altria invests $1.8 billion in cannabis company Cronos
Altria hopes pot is the key to help it grow beyond its stagnant cigarette business. Tobacco giant Altira is investing $1.8 billion in Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group. That will give Altria a 45% stake in the company, with an option for Altria to increase its stake to 55% over the next five years. Reports of an Altria-Cronos deal first surfaced earlier this week. The decision by Altria to go ahead with an investment in Cronos shows that Altria is serious about investing in marijuana as a new growth area as sales of traditional cigarettes slow. Altria's stock has fallen nearly 25% this year and the company is expected to report revenue growth of only about 1% this year and in 2019.
[...] Cronos and other cannabis stocks have been thrust into the spotlight in the past few months following the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada in October, as well as legalized recreational and medical pot in several US states last month. With Democrats winning control of the US House, Congress may finally pass the Farm Bill, which would make it legal to produce hemp and potentially open the door for more products containing cannabidiol, or CBD. Many alcoholic beverage, tobacco and other consumer products companies may want to bet on cannabis. Canadian marijuana company Canopy Growth (CGC) already has received a multibillion dollar investment from Corona owner Constellation Brands (STZ). Coca-Cola (KO) was rumored to be considering an investment in Canadian cannabis company Aurora (ACB). [...] Coke's archrival Pepsi (PEP) hasn't completely ruled out a move into cannabis.
Altria's Canadian Pot Bet Is Really About the U.S.
It's official: Big Tobacco is now a player in the cannabis market. That will change the game.
Previously: Another Major Beermaker is Looking at Ways to Enter the Cannabis Business
Coca-Cola Is Eyeing the Cannabis Market
Peter Thiel's Cannabis Company Was Briefly Worth More Than Twitter
Cannabis Becomes Legal in Canada
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @10:53AM (5 children)
No, you don't solve the problem by not caring. The problem is harm to society, with many causes and effects all related. We get cancer, wasted resources, birth defects, lung disease, pot heads not caring about life... and we could judge that SWAT team raids are worse but that doesn't mean pot is harmless.
We are only allowing this because enforcement has been expensive and violent to such a degree that legalization starts to look appealing.
It's the same as alcohol. If banning alcohol were practical, we'd do it (we did!) and we'd save many lives. Well, it isn't practical, but that doesn't make alcohol OK.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @11:41AM (3 children)
What cancer and lung disease are you talking about?
(Score: 2) by dry on Monday December 10 2018, @03:28AM (2 children)
The ones that actually drop with pot use like the tobacco caused ones.
One thing about legalization is perhaps we'll get some honest studies done.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @09:18AM (1 child)
Scented holiday candles: cancer
Burning your toast: cancer
Campfire: cancer
Grilling some burgers: cancer
Tobacco: cancer
Pot: somehow not cancer??? Really?????
(Score: 2) by dry on Monday December 10 2018, @03:56PM
There was a study (Australian?) that showed tobacco smokers who also smoked pot had less cancers then tobacco smokers who didn't smoke pot. I can't find it right now.
As I said, we need more honest studies, not studies that are financed by the American government on the condition they find something bad. There is a lot of conflicting info out there on how harmful pot is.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday December 09 2018, @02:14PM
It's a free society with imperfect people. People can want branded cancer. Again, it's all solved by you turning on the apathy flag.