Photo: Scott Olson / Staff (Getty)
With the continued legalization of marijuana, the cannabis industry is a booming global operation and investments are rolling, so to speak, from all types of avenues. That includes Constellation Brands, the name behind Corona beer, who recently invested $4 billion dollars into Canopy Growth, the world’s largest publicly traded marijuana company. Not exactly a measly sum.
But this isn’t the first time Constellation Brands has opened up their wallet in regards to the weed industry, instead marking this as the second large investment in Canopy Growth, who is now 38 percent owned by Corona’s distributor. The initial funding was an effort to increase research for cannabis-infused drinks, while the most recent financial investment was made towards greater growth in the 30 countries where medical marijuana’s federal approval is on the horizon.
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Canopy Growth’s CEO, Bruce Linton, suggested multiple investors were interested in a deal with the medical marijuana brand, though it was the maker of Corona who made the strongest pitch.
“Part of the reason we like them isn’t just because they’re a diversified beverage maker — meaning they do beer, wine, and spirits — but because they’re actually entrepreneurial,” he said. “I think they didn’t view themselves as a beverage company so much as an entity that provides occasions with some kind of lift, if you will — and that’s an easy way to look at cannabis, not as a threat, but as an alternative or additional.”
With beer sales on a mild decline and an admission that marijuana sales are a potential reason for that, other breweries have also dipped their feet into the cannabis industry, as both Heineken and Molson Coors have recently begun to produce cannabis-infused drinks.
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Unfortunately, you’ll need to start working on your Canadian accent and hockey knowledge, if you feel like picking up any of the cannabis-infused products from Constellation Brands, as they have no intention of selling in the United States until there’s a federal approval. For the time being, they will exclusively have their products available in Canada, who recently approved a measure to legalize marijuana across the entire country.
Free healthcare and weed?! Beat that, America.
