How tobacco giant Altria is becoming a cannabis company

Altria supports the federal legalization of cannabis under an "appropriate regulatory framework"
Forbes (US)
Tuesday, February 9, 2021

marlboro marijuanaAltria, one of the world’s biggest tobacco companies, is well on its way to also being one of the world’s biggest and most influential cannabis companies. After spending $1.8 billion to buy a stake in a multi-national cannabis company in 2018, Altria is now applying pressure in the halls of Congress and at the state level to push cannabis-friendly laws, recent filings and reporting show. Whispers of a power play from Big Tobacco to capture the cannabis industry have swirled for years in marijuana legalization and cannabis-industry circles. And now it appears to be happening, albeit slowly, out in the open, and in form similar to other big-business techniques: acquisition, intellectual property, and lobbying for friendly regulation.