Who is "The Marijuana Maverick"?

While marijuana is a hot topic right now, and politicians are lining up to sing its praises, it wasn't always that way. In fact, it was one of the third-rails in politics: you could not even suggest legalizing it without losing your job. But one man put his job on the line back in the 1990s in order to do just that. I want to share a conversation I had with perhaps the first major political figure You are receiving this email because you subscribed to Outsider Club. [Click here]( to manage your e-mail preferences. [Outsider Club logo] Who is "The Marijuana Maverick"? [Jimmy Mengel Photo] By [Jimmy Mengel]( Written Oct. 25, 2018 While marijuana is a hot topic right now, and politicians are lining up to sing its praises, it wasn't always that way. In fact, it was one of the third-rails in politics: you could not even suggest legalizing it without losing your job. But one man put his job on the line back in the 1990s in order to do just that. I want to share a conversation I had with perhaps the first major political figure to come out in support of marijuana. It’s clearly been a hot topic in the investment and political worlds, and Governor Gary Johnson is uniquely qualified to discuss it… I recently flew to New Mexico to cover his budding Senate campaign. He served as the CEO for Cannabis Sativa from 2012 to 2016. He is now an advisor to the investment fund CB1 Capital, which “specializes in the supply chain of cannabinoid-based wellness solutions, products and therapies that address a wide range of unmet medical conditions.” He’s made hundreds of thousands of dollars in the cannabis industry. But his reasons for being so interested in cannabis are far more profound than money… [$50 Into $1,200,000]( If you had put $50 into Pfizer stock at its IPO, you’d be a millionaire. You’re about to discover the “Next Pfizer”, which recently IPO’d. I’ve visited restricted areas of this company and grilled the CEO personally. This company is disrupting a $635 billion industry. And it trades for a couple bucks... Here’s your shot to 10X your money. [Click here to see the company.]( Governor Johnson has personally found respite in medical marijuana use after an outrageous injury... Now, Gary Johnson is no stranger to incredible adventures. He’s climbed the highest mountain on each continent: [The Seven Summits.]( He competed in the Ironman World Championship. He skis 100 times a year. He’s done the Continental Divide mountain bike race — an almost 3,000-mile trek from Canada to New Mexico. But he met his match when paragliding in Hawaii. While in Maui, Gov. Johnson was gliding high and enjoying the view when he was caught in a tree. He said the tree basically turned his paraglider into a “slingshot” that fired him directly into the ground — fracturing vertebrae, breaking ribs, and actually shaving 1 1⁄2 inches from his height. He used medical marijuana to quell the pain… “It’s the worst pain I’ve ever felt. Rather than using painkillers, which I have used on occasion before, I did smoke pot, as a result of having broken my back, blowing out both of my knees, breaking ribs, really taking about three years to recover.” Here’s our chat about marijuana legalization, and what he would do about it as the swing vote in the Senate... Jimmy Mengel: One thing important thing for voters, and I think as far as your senate campaign goes, you've been consistent. So as governor, that's exactly how it played out, right? Gov. Gary Johnson: Well, yeah, there's no surprise here. The positions that I held as governor remain so today. We change positions and we change positions because I think we become better informed. I changed my mind completely on the death penalty. I was a death penalty advocate, and this is going to sound really crazy, but I was a death penalty advocate until I realized that the government makes mistakes on the death penalty. I know that that just sounds probably crazy because of course they make mistakes. Jimmy Mengel: Well that's a very important thing to make a mistake on. Gov. Gary Johnson: It's very important, especially if you happen to be one of those, and the mistakes maybe as high as eight percent. Do you know we have more people in prison, numbers-wise, than communist China? Jimmy Mengel: I have heard that. Gov. Gary Johnson: It's staggering. On a per capita basis, we're way out ahead having more people in prison. I think the majority of that are our drug laws and I've been working very hard since 1999 to reduce the number of people in jail because of drug-related crime... Jimmy Mengel: Well, that's exactly where I want to go with this. I know very well that you are one of the most outspoken advocates for legalizing marijuana at the very least. Gov. Gary Johnson: Yes. Jimmy Mengel: Drug policy in general. What were people telling you in 1999 when you were trying to do this? Gov. Gary Johnson: Well, amazingly, and I didn't go into this with my eyes closed, I really believed that this was going to be a fallout that was going to have 85 percent of the population against me on this. I believed that the phone calls and emails into the governor's office was going to be 85 to 15 negative. I really thought that, not being blind to this. First of all, the volume of faxes, phone calls, emails, and letters into the governor's office quadrupled overnight. And the number was 95 to five positive. Jimmy Mengel: Interesting. Gov. Gary Johnson: Very interesting... Controversial health book The Vital Truth “changes lives!”[nvj-vital-truth_report-v4]( Joshua Golden of Virginia says, “It’s funny, bizarre and absolutely changed my life. Without Alex Reid and The Vital Truth I’m convinced I’d be 40 lbs heavier and a Type 2 diabetic. READ THIS BOOK NOW.” Interested in joining Joshua? Find out how by getting a FREE copy [right here.]( Jimmy Mengel: Did you see the national polls, what people say but when it actually happens? Gov. Gary Johnson: When it actually happens it's oh my gosh, somebody actually called out the emperor for wearing no clothes. Jimmy Mengel: New Mexico is not recreationally legal now. And you've been in the marijuana business. What do you see happening with federal legislation with Schedule 1 drugs and as a senator, that seems like to be the major thing that needs to be done in order to roll that out across the country. Gov. Gary Johnson: I think there are three things that I am going to promote as U.S. senator that are needed when it comes to marijuana laws. One is to de-schedule marijuana as a Class one narcotic, which would straighten out the banking issues and it would allow for research into marijuana, something that currently really is not being done because it's a Class one narcotic and nobody wants to jump through those hoops to actually be able to research marijuana. Jimmy Mengel: In other words, they'll get shut down by the government. Gov. Gary Johnson: That they'll get shut down by the government. Number two is drug testing. Drug testing right now, there are thousands of people losing their jobs because they test positive for marijuana. The government needs to establish impairment. But what people need to understand is a drug test for marijuana does not test for impairment. It simply test for the presence of THC, which can exist months after the last time you've consumed any marijuana. So it's terribly unfair. And then lastly, there needs to be a process set up to pardon those that have been convicted on marijuana crimes. We're talking now about maybe 10 million Americans who are felons, but because of marijuana conviction and the fact that they are felons, they would otherwise be tax-paying, law-abiding citizens. After the prohibition of alcohol was repealed, there was a process for pardoning those convicted of alcohol-related crime. Jimmy Mengel: And you think same thing should exist now. Gov. Gary Johnson: Same thing should exist right now for marijuana related crime. There are still people in federal prison doing life sentences for having sold large amounts of marijuana on numerous occasions or even one occasion but those people are, the makeup of more than 50 percent of federal prison fits the following profile. Selling drugs, selling small amounts of drugs on numerous occasions. Mandatory sentencing, federal law. Jimmy Mengel: Yeah. I was talking to a fellow the other day in Baltimore. He had one marijuana charge when he was a teenager and from there he couldn't get jobs, he couldn't really do much of anything. It followed him around and turned out, you have to live on the street. You have to go to jail. You go back and forth. And then that's it. Nobody gives you a chance. Gov. Gary Johnson: Families broken up, inability to get a job. Jimmy Mengel: From one very minor thing. Gov. Gary Johnson: This is a reparation that needs to be made for those that have fallen victim to the war on drugs. These are the victims of the war on drugs. 90 percent of the drug problem is prohibition related, not use related. The issue, look, and that's not to discount the issues surrounding abuse of drugs, but that should be our focus. Jimmy Mengel: No, I think that's very important. On the other hand, if we were to better regulate marijuana or legalize marijuana, as a governor, a state needs jobs, right? How's the job process? Like you're bringing in American jobs, you're doing it in a new economy that hasn't existed. Why aren't people talking about that in regards to marijuana? [The Medical Equivalent of Gold]( This rare fluid is worth $60,000 a gallon: [blue_blood_190x190] Without its strange powers, Big Pharma would completely go out of business. One small company has quietly cornered the market on this substance, soaking up 90% of the world's supply. You could ride it for 10,000% gains. [Find out how.]( Gov. Gary Johnson: Why aren't they talking about that? In New Mexico, I believe that it would result in 30,000 jobs. You don't have to really question that because our surrounding states, Colorado, Colorado has probably created 100,000 jobs because they were the first to do it. Nobody's going to catch up with Colorado when it comes to marijuana. Jimmy Mengel: People are moving there just to do that. Gov. Gary Johnson: Just look at Colorado, look at Washington state, Oregon, now California, Nevada. It's not a made up number when you talk about 30,000 jobs in New Mexico. Jimmy Mengel: And I've read up upwards of a billion dollars in tax revenue for California. I struggle to find out why federally, even if people are against marijuana, the writing's on the wall. Like what in the world are you doing holding up all of these things when you couldn't be putting people to work for nice paying American jobs. A lot of the things that Donald Trump ran for president on, like why isn't this like number one, no brainer. Gov. Gary Johnson: I completely agree. I have not had, personally, I have not had a drink of alcohol for 31 years. Now, for anybody that drinks themselves into oblivion every night, have at it. As long as you don't get behind the wheel of a car, as long as you don't put anybody else in harm's way. But for me, marijuana has always been about health and wellness and I find marijuana as such a safer alternative to everything else that's out there and that starts with alcohol. I have been open about my occasional use of marijuana. Jimmy Mengel: I don't think there's like any price to be paid for that. If you compare it to alcohol, obviously, just run the numbers, it's ridiculous. Gov. Gary Johnson: Well, it is. I have always maintained that legalizing marijuana will lead to less substance abuse, overall substance abuse because marijuana is so much safer than everything else that's out there starting with alcohol. I also urge you to watch our first Outsider Club documentary, ["Three Days with Gary Johnson"]( right here: [gary johnson youtube]( If you'd like to learn more about investing in medical marijuana, [you can do so here.]( If you are interested in helping Gary get his message out, [you can learn more here](. Godspeed, [Jimmy Mengel] Jimmy Mengel [follow basic]( [@mengeled on Twitter]( Jimmy is a managing editor for [Outsider Club]( and the investment director of the personal finance advisory, [The Crow's Nest,](and cannabis stocks advisory, [The Marijuana Manifesto.]( For more on Jimmy, check out his editor's [page](. *Follow Outsider Club on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. Enjoy reading this article? [Click here]( to like it and receive similar articles to read! Browse Our Archives [November Deadline to Drive Vanadium Prices Even Higher]( [Replacing a 2,500-Year-Old Technology]( [Goodbye Growth and Earnings]( [The Most Compelling Gold Miner Today]( [Is King Canopy Wearing Any Clothes?]( --------------------------------------------------------------- This email was sent to {EMAIL}. It is not our intention to send email to anyone who doesn't want it. 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