Some are calling it an act of cowardice.
Others are calling it an act of discrimination.
I’m calling it bullshit!
Yesterday afternoon we learned that the Nasdaq denied a listing for a social platform company called MassRoots (OTCBB: MSRT).
MassRoots is a social platform that caters to cannabis users and supporters.
According to the press release, the Nasdaq determined that MassRoots may be deemed as aiding and abetting the distribution of an illegal substance.
MassRoots does not sell or distribute cannabis. It sells advertising. Just like Facebook and just like Google.
Yes, on MassRoots, cannabis-related companies can advertise. And I’m sure any mediocre lawyer could make the case that such a platform does aid and abet the distribution of cannabis. But can we cut the crap for a moment?
What would happen if MassRoots were to be listed on the Nasdaq?
The government couldn’t shut down the exchange. Federal agents aren’t going to storm Nasdaq headquarters. I tell ya, the gatekeepers of the finance world talk a good game when they’re questioned on ethics, transparency, and back room deals. But when it comes to listing a cannabis-related social platform company, they fall into the fetal position.
Meanwhile, most of the guys I know that work on Wall Street are blasting through mountains of cocaine as if they were Tony Montana from Scarface.
And I can guarantee you that none of those guys are coming to the defense of MassRoots either.
The hypocrisy is mind-blowing on so many levels here.
Think about it. Right now you can buy shares in any number of alcohol-related companies on the Nasdaq, and a few tobacco companies on the NYSE.
Tobacco and alcohol are far more dangerous than cannabis, yet peddlers of booze and smokes have no problem with their listings. And nor should they.
Open the Flood Gates
It’s also worth noting that there are currently four biotech companies that are working with cannabis that are listed on the Nasdaq. Those companies actually buy, grow, and extract compounds from cannabis. So how is MassRoots “aiding and abetting” the distribution of an illegal substance, but those other four are not?
I suspect MassRoots was denied its listing because the company caters to a very lively cannabis culture. A culture where folks glamorize cannabis. A culture where folks are unapologetic for fighting against the tyranny of prohibition. A culture where a lot of young people refuse to be silent in their quest to help end the war on drugs.
MassRoots is providing a platform for disruption, and prohibitionists don’t want that. They fear it. And they should.
Of course, while MassRoots may have been denied its Nasdaq listing, that doesn’t mean the company won’t continue to grow and thrive. As well, MassRoots is only one of many cannabis-related social platforms available today.
The flood gates have opened, and cannabis prohibition is going to drown in the waters of change. It’s happening right now. And I couldn’t be happier.
So, dear reader, feel free to glamorize cannabis use all you want. Share the truth about prohibition, and of course, invest in the cannabis companies that are making it possible for all of us to medicate and recreate as we choose.
Although the folks over at the Nasdaq don’t have the stones to do the right thing here, the truth is, there’s nothing stopping any of us from doing our part to help end the war on drugs by investing in legal cannabis stocks.
