Back in it!

Today marks the day I get back into the blogging game as my other project needs to be sided for the time being.  So I'm back to this!

Before I get into today's main idea, I'm going to recap some of the events that have been going on (politically) in this space since my last post.  There's still a few posts sitting around waiting to be published that don't have anything to do with politics (they are focused on firms operating in the space), but more on those later.

California, as stated in a previous post, has shelved their efforts to get recreational legalization on their 2014 ballot.  New York and Georgia have both legalized medicinal use, albeit in extremely limited circumstances.  Floridians will vote on medical use in August while Rhode Island will vote on recreational legalization during that same month.  Oregon's legalization of recreational use is dependent on the initiative gathering enough signatures (which, if successful, would be put to a vote in November).  Maryland's house of Representatives has debated both legalizing recreational use and pulling back on restrictions set up for medicinal users, but nothing has been put to a vote, yet.

Now, onto the main theme for today, which is what I've learned while doing extensive research on this space for a friend of mine.  The most astounding thing I've learned is that there isn't as much social media action happening here as one would think.  While some major players have huge followings on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc..., such as actors, musicians, and some publications, there isn't as much activity surrounding the space as one would imagine.  I'm saying this because while over 40% of adults in this country (conservatively speaking) have tried the substance, there are only a handful of pro-marijuana influencers active on social media that have a following of over 1 million people.

This has perplexed me.  Reason being, people who are proponents of the stuff (from legitimate medical users to your average pothead) are generally pretty vocal about their position.  Today's technology allows such people to connect with ease, and make an impact on the internet.  This just isn't happening, and I can't understand why.  (To my few readers: do you know why, or have a hypothesis?)  It seems that those who have the most power to influence simply aren't, or the ones that do have the power simply aren't being helped by similar people.

I've also learned a few more things about investment as well.  That will go into tomorrow's (massive) post.  I've lost a few bucks trying to invest in this space in the past month and I want to tell my latest tale.