Bruce Linton on the Future of Cannabis
Hint: It’s Not All About Cannabis – LPC
Bruce Linton sat down with the Stamford Advocate recently to talk about the future of cannabis, and his role in it. (Please see the link to the full article at the bottom.) It perhaps inadvertently gave a behind-the-scenes look at ex-Canopy Growth co-CEO’s philosophy – and why he eventually was fired. Ultimately, his departure came down to profits, he confirmed.
“The right path for the company is probably to focus a bit sooner on profits and scale than I was ready to do. The result is, the board has a right to change things, and they did,” he said.
“I was more interested in domination than earnings per share,” Linton said. “That combination of things isn’t always going to be in alignment with people in organizations that have a lot of big cash.” That echoes what Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy said about his views on the future of cannabis. Chasing profits over industry “domination” as he put it is counter-productive in some ways.
Linton also gave some insights into why he and Canopy partnered with Martha Stewart to create hemp-derived CBD products for pets.
“I like dogs. Our connection to the dog and our tears with the passing of the dog almost exceed [our grief over losing] family members. So I think there’s a massive economic opportunity. There hasn’t been a history of prescribing cannabis for dogs,” he said.
However, CBD products need to be an “upside-down” model, he said. There is risk of a glut of CBD products, and reducing that exposure is important.
“I really want hemp to be the driver and CBD to be the last ingredient. Because if there’s too much CBD in the market, I want all the other things to be a business. You should have no waste, and you should have dependable income.”
The Future of Cannabis is Diversification, at Least for Linton – LPC
The US legalized hemp last year, which may explain in part why for Linton, the future of cannabis is actually hemp. He talks about hemp-based straws as one example, though flip-flops are also possible. With his non-compete clause, he has to look for international opportunities. In this interview, he mentioned getting into a multi-state, primarily THC-driven company in the US. That sounds a lot like Gage Growth, which he joined earlier this year.
Linton said that the future of cannabis for himself is diversification. Besides cannabis, hemp, and CBD products for pets, he said he wants to get into medical research internationally and an ancillary business, possibly media.
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