“While I am not opposed to the legalization of recreational cannabis for adults, I am deeply concerned about what the change will mean to people who rely on New Jersey’s medicinal program. In state after state, we’ve seen the rise of a recreational market seriously damage the availability of medicinal cannabis.” – David Knowlton

This quote is from an opinion piece in nj.com penned over a year ago by David Knowlton. Knowlton, was CEO and founder of the “N.J. Health Care Quality Institute” until he retired in 2015. That organization, an advocacy group for medical marijuana, seems to have morphed into the “Cannabis Education and Research Institute (CERI),” which Knowlton also heads up.

“Will medical marijuana survive once everyone can buy cannabis?” was the scary headline. The intent is pretty obvious – raise fears that legalization will mean ill people may not get their cannabis medicine.

From the post: On Election Day, voters in New Jersey spoke loudly: legalize the sale of cannabis in our state. But as we move toward legalized recreational cannabis, we must not risk the health of medicinal cannabis patients. New Jersey became the 14th state to allow the sale of medicinal cannabis when the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was passed in 2010. Right now, more than 80,000 people in New Jersey use cannabis to treat or alleviate symptoms from 17 debilitating conditions — conditions ranging from the pain and nausea of cancer to epilepsy, ALS and glaucoma.

So what is going on here? Why is Knowlton trying to fight cannabis legalization when he founded the N.J. Health Care Quality Institute, and has been an advocate for medical marijuana that has been legal in New Jersey for over 12 years?

Our guess is that it might have something to do with all the regulations and protections for consumers that will happen after it’s legalized. That means the FDA will be involved just for starters. Cannabis has become a huge business and we know the owners and investors will fight regulations and oversight with all their might. Dave Knowlton may like the business just the way it is now.

More money for rich guys.