White-collar cannabis CEOs in US get high
New York: They are bankers, accountants and computer engineers — mainstream in every way but for one respect: their love of cannabis and the desire to make megabucks in a growing US industry.
This week in New York, around 120 people took part in workshops on where and how to invest in cannabis, currently an estimated $7 billion industry, on the sidelines of the fourth annual World Cannabis Congress.
Mark Giannone and his son Justin, who travelled in from neighbouring New Jersey, were among the wannabe cannabis CEOs.
“Both of us love the plant. We want to get involved with the industry, we feel that there is more than just the recreational benefits,” explained 31year-old cybersecurity engineer Justin. “We came on a fact-finding mission. There is lots of uncertainty,” said his 60-year-old accountant father Mark. “I am not quite ready to roll the dice.”
Patricia, currently an auditor and unwilling to give her last name because she works for the federal government, is further down the road with her plans — to open a cannabis dispensary this year in Connecticut with her banker husband.
Connecticut, like New Jersey and New York, have legalised the medicinal use of cannabis.