Reads For The Weed-Kend: Steve Jobs, Legalization And Changing Cities

Tuesday, voters in California will decide if Proposition 64 for the legalization of recreational marijuana passes or not. So far, the campaign has managed to raise roughly $16 million — about 10 times what its opposition received — and cultivate the support of former Facebook Inc FB president Sean Parker and hedge fund legend George Soros.

However, it is not only billionaires and activists who are backing the initiative. A recent statewide poll revealed that 58 percent of the possible voters support the proposal. Interestingly, this figure gets much higher among voters aged 18–29, a demographic that boasts 74 percent backing for Proposition 64.

Brace For The Changes

On Friday, Benzinga shared a look at why marijuana legalization in California could boost real estate big time, taking the Colorado case (where the legal marijuana industry generated $2.4 billion and 18,000 new jobs in Colorado alone, counting both direct weed sales and adjacent business verticals) as a proxy.

Nonetheless, real estate is not the only arena susceptible of change following a legalization of weed. In a recent article, Curbed shared some more ways in which marijuana could change your city.

1. Dispensaries could arise as the new liquor stores of America.
2. Weed could become much more publicly visible.
3. An increasing number of businesses could show support to the marijuana industry.
4. Grow houses will likely become much more modern and less shady.
5. Bars and hotels could allow smoking indoors.

Private Equity Is Already Prepared

As changes in marijuana legislation loom across nine states, private equity funds are getting ready. On Friday, cannabis-focused Privateer Holdings said it had surpassed the $100 million threshold in its capital raise initiative. Co-founder and CEO Kennedy commented, “Privateer will use the money to fund strategic acquisitions as well as to grow its existing brands in the U.S. and overseas,” a Fortune article explicated, adding that the firm plans to invest more than $20 million in foreign markets, as countries like Australia, Germany and Canada evaluate new marijuana initiatives.

“The smart investors that we’ve been talking to over the past six months are afraid of waking up in a panic on Nov. 9 and not having some exposure to this industry,” Kennedy added.

Steve Jobs Was Ready Years Ago

It is no secret that Steve Jobs was an unparalleled innovator. However, few know about the impact he had on the marijuana industry. Yes, that’s right, Apple Inc. AAPL founder Steve Jobs might have seen legalization coming years ago.

As Evan Ross Katz elaborated in a Mic article, Apple popularized a “generational model — that of releasing new, updated devices annually [...] Such minor tweaks would become customary, as consumers happily splayed out hundreds of dollars in exchange for holding in their palm the latest in Apple technologies.”

Now, the marijuana industry is adopting comparable practices. “Vaporizers are undergoing similar augmentations as companies begin to roll-out second and third generation models,” Ross Katz added.

However, he concluded, the one thing that the industry is learning from Jobs, his “ace in the hole,” is planned obsolescence. So, get ready to update your vaporizer every year or two if you don’t want to be left out of the latest in c trends.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no interest in any of the securities or entities mentioned above.