billion $ company betting big on marijuana.

                                       

As of not long ago, its been a couple of rich people who furtively financed thriving pot organizations, but for the first time, a noteworthy investment firm is going to put multimillion dollars behind pot.

It's an association between two speculators and the first institutional interests in pot,

Geoff Lewis' firm, Founders Fund, a $2 billion organization, made its name investing early in new organisations such as Facebook, Spotify and SpaceX. Be that as it may now its wagering on pot.

"We discuss all our investments  for a long time . ...So especially for this situation, we did an additional, additional profound jump on the business," Lewis said.

The business is recreational weed, now lawful in four states. Therapeutic (Medical) marijuana is legal in more than 20 now.

Privateers Holdings CEO Brendan Kennedy said it is a watershed moment.

"It's essential for our organization, but at the same time its critical for the whole industry," Kennedy said.

Privateers Holdings is the parent organization of three cannabis brands: Tilray, which develops pot in Canada; Leafly, an online database of distinctive pot strains and stores; and Marley Natural, from the family of reggae star Bob Marley, which intends to become the "Marlboro of weed."

Kennedy confronted difficulties along the way.

"Raising cash is constantly troublesome, but raising cash in this specific industry is the hardest thing I've ever done," he said. However Founders Fund is backing Kennedy's organizations on the grounds that it sees a future in what they says is now a $40 billion business in the U.S.

"One of our key fundamental beliefs is any individual who wants to consume marijuana is already consuming it," Kennedy said.

"We will see it move, change from being a market that's based on prohibition and an unlawful business to being a completely open, completely transparent business sector. and thats the opportunity," Kennedy included.

"The surest method for multiplying your cash putting resources into cannabis stocks is to fold it back over and place it in your pocket," UCLA professor Mark Klieman cautioned.

Klieman studies the cannabis marketplace and warns: investors beware.

"Quite a few people are gathering into the marijuana business on the grounds that they think they will have the capacity to offer a lawful product at illegal prices," Klieman said. "competition's not going to permit that. Legal cannabis will be very cheap, and I think quite a few people are going to lose their shirts attempting to sell it."

That is, whether they don't get arrested first. Under federal government law, marijuana is still illegal. While the Justice Department has said it won't prosecute cannabis organisations (companies) obeying state laws, that could change.













Kennedy said he doesn't see a danger, however.

"More than 80 percent of Americans feel the medicinal marijuana ought to be legal, 8 out of 10; you can't get 8 out of 10 American's to agree on  anything," Kennedy said.

Lewis said this isn't a politically motivated investment.

"We're investing in light of the fact that we think its an awesome business," he noted.

Both Lewis and Kennedy believe pot will be completely legal in the U.S. inside 10 years. Starting now, there are no numbers on what number of organizations have effectively begun, or how many jobs  have been created, but many experts agree  the cannabis business sector could turn into a $150 billion to $200 billion business sector around the world. Only time will tell.