I like it in a general way, even if I don't like
chemical companies which employ risky technology in general (and this is only through 2003). If/when they enter the ring it can't help but legitimize the entire industry. They are a name that even Grandma recognizes from Wally World, and probably buys a few times a year herself. Yeah, that would be cool.
But let's not get carried away just yet. Rest assured that if they get in, they will be in it for the money. Obviously EVERYONE is in it for the money in some way, but I would resist the temptation to equate MG selling marijuana oriented products with MG being run by concerned humanitarians. We comprise a market with a well defined need and no small amount of cash, and that makes us ripe for targeted marketing. As 420pharms suggested, they may just see what Fox Farms and the like do and build on it. With their supply chain and massive retail store presence MG could undercut the others by just a few bucks and still make a _killing_. And I'm willing to bet that the money, and not the easing of widespread suffering and overturning outmoded Puritanical laws, is what motivates them. Call me crazy.
That said, they may still manage to turn out a good, clean, and safe product. And they may actually help lower the cost of growing while increasing production. And they may in fact end up lobbying and advertising and raising awareness of the mmj movement. Then each of us gets to decide individually whether that is enough to give them our support (and $) in spite of the fact that they sell Roundup, lay down with Monsanto, lobby for GMO-friendly legislation, etc. I don't think I will since I'm kind of a stickler for such things, but I could certainly understand why people would.
I do give them credit for a ballsy maneuver, though. Whatever happens, I'll def be interested in watching it evolve. I'll just be doing it from a distance is all.