Monsanto, the multi-billion agribusiness giant, has announced today it has patented the first genetically modified strain of marijuana.
…But on the other hand, other prominent figures in the community fear genetically modified cannabis will mix with other strains and could destroy the diversity of DNA, a reality some deem a very real threat if we look at recent examples of GM maize ‘accidentally’ cross-breading with non-GM maize.
Advocates for the legalization of marijuana see the move of Monsanto to work on GM marijuana strains as a “suspicious but welcomed step towards legalization on a massive scale” in the US
“Currently, Federal law criminalizes marijuana and hemp derivatives because public opinion is still against it and legal commercial production in the U.S. is currently handled by a patchwork of small farmers whom are not trusted by investors. A major player as Monsanto could bring confidence within government and towards investors in the market if it were to own a large part of the exploitable lands and commercial products”.
There are even some experts such as James Adamson, president of Medical Marijuana Technologies, who believes that the only way marijuana is to become fully legal in the US is through the branding of a controlled GM strain.
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James Adamson, president of Medical Marijuana Technologies |
Although Monsanto’s testing on cannabis is only at an experimental stage, no plan has yet been released by the agriculture business firm as to what purposes the patented strain would be used for…