Cannabusiness

Vicente Fox - Jamen Shively - cannabis commercialization, Source: (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Earlier this summer Vicente Fox, former Mexican president and Coca-Cola Mexico president, met with Big Marijuana self-prophesied computer nerd turned drug tycoon Jamen Shively. The news conference caused a bit of fuss and a lot of eye-rolling from users and non-users alike who guffawed at Shively’s bold plan: to capitalize on American brand fetish by creating a brand-name retail chain of marijuana. Shively’s own audacity took center stage while Vicente Fox stood by his side, relatively unnoticed.

Now, in recent months Fox has emerged as a hero on the legalization front for both Mexicans and Americans. He reasons: “The War on Drugs convoked by President Nixon 40 years ago as has been a total failure.” The sentiment, while not exactly novel (you’d be hard pressed to find disagreement from even the most staunch non-user) marks a pretty quick change of heart from a man who fought with gusto against cartels in the “mother of all battles” to end drug trafficking during his presidency. It would seem time and old age has administered to Fox a healthy dose of reason, and he admits that prohibition has failed. Moreover, its very continuation endorses cartel violence in Mexico.

starbucks of cannabis, jamen shivley

All glowing sentiments aside concerning Fox’s change of heart, his involvement with “Starbucks of Marijuana” entrepreneur Shively and its implications have yet to be fully explored. Fox, who attended Harvard Business school and who increased sales of Coca-Cola in Mexico (giving Coca-Cola an outrageous edge in Mexico that persists today) while president of Coca-Cola Mexico, is perhaps more like-minded to Shively than first meets the eye.

As Obama’s unflinching war on weed marches on in a manic, directionless battle of DEA raids and an incarceration rate for pot-related crime increase, advocates for legalization, especially political ones who may still exercise some palpable influence, are hardly unwelcome. In this case, caution ought to precede open arms; any political leader, current or former, in cahoots with a self-proclaimed “Starbucks of Marijuana” is probably someone to be looked at with a critical eye.

Agreed, marijuana as a branded capital venture seems an inevitable compromise of legalization. And whether marijuana ends up as the U.S. Coca-Cola Mexico or as a network of small independent dispensaries that can cater to different needs, tastes, etc., is speculation. Yet with Fox and Shively at the helm of the legalization brigade, the corporatization of cannabis may become something more than speculation.