Weekly Wrapup: Growing Fears in Medical Cannabis Industry Over Possibility of Big Pharma Invasion

Last summer, MMJ Business Daily wrote a post focused on the predictions of Robert Kane, who is heavily involved in the financial and investment sides of the medical cannabis industry.

We summed up his top prediction for the industry this way: “The medical pot regulatory structure of the future will highly favor pharmaceutical firms and health professionals, who will use their political clout and business heft to win dispensary licenses and push out the little guys.”

Now, nearly one year later, there are some signs that the industry is indeed headed in this direction, and fears of a Big Pharma invasion are growing, as evidenced in two stories we published last week.

In Michigan, a patient group has come out against a bill intended to clarify and clean up the state’s confusing and vague MMJ laws. The group says the proposal will essentially ensure that only large, well-funded companies and entrepreneurs with plenty of resources at their fingertips can start and operate dispensaries and grow facilities. These bigger players will then knock out the smaller dispensaries and caregivers currently providing medical marijuana to patients, the thinking goes.

We also wrote last week about how the newest states to allow medical marijuana dispensaries have adopted strict measures that limit the number of centers and stack the deck in favor of applicants with access to lots of cash and business sophistication. In Connecticut, for example, all dispensaries must be owned and operated by physicians.

These developments do indeed signal a substantial shift in the MMJ industry. If things continue in this direction, Kane’s prediction of an industry dominated by large pharmaceutical companies and corporations in general will likely come to fruition.

Other top stories in MMJ Business Daily last week:

Growing Support for Medical Cannabis in New York

Washington DC Names Dispensary Finalists