(BREAKING NEWS) Ex-Microsoft manager plans to create first U.S. marijuana brand

(Reuters) - A former Microsoft
executive plans to create the first
U.S. national marijuana brand,
with cannabis he hopes to
eventually import legally from
Mexico, and said he was kicking
off his business by acquiring
medical pot dispensaries in three
U.S. states.
Jamen Shively, a former Microsoft corporate
strategy manager, said he envisions his
Seattle-based enterprise becoming the
leader in both recreational and medical
cannabis - much like Starbucks is the
dominant name in coffee, he said.
Shively, 45, whose six years at Microsoft
ended in 2009, said he was soliciting
investors for $10 million in start-up money.
The use, sale and possession of marijuana
remains illegal in the United States under
federal law. Two U.S. states have, however,
legalized recreational marijuana use and
are among 18 states that allow it for
medical use.
"It's a giant market in search of a brand,"
Shively said of the marijuana industry. "We
would be happy if we get 40 percent of it
worldwide."
A 2005 United Nations report estimated the
global marijuana trade to be valued at $142
billion. here
Washington state and Colorado became the
first two U.S. states to legalize recreational
marijuana when voters approved
legalization in November.
Shively laid out his plans, along with his
vision for a future in which marijuana will
be imported from Mexico, at a Thursday
news conference in downtown Seattle.
Joining him was former Mexican President
Vicente Fox, a longtime Shively
acquaintance who has been an advocate of
decriminalizing marijuana. Fox said he was
there to show his support for Shively's
company but has no financial stake in it.
"What a difference it makes to have Jamen
here sitting at my side instead of Chapo
Guzman," said Fox, referring to the fact he
would rather see Shively selling marijuana
legally than the Mexican drug kingpin
selling it illegally. "This is the story that has
begun to be written here."
Shively told Reuters he hoped Fox would
serve an advisory role in his enterprise,
dubbed Diego Pellicer after Shively's hemp-
producing great grandfather.
The sale of cannabis or marijuana remains
illegal in much of the world although
countries mainly in Europe and the
Americas have decriminalized the
possession of small quantities of it. A larger
number of countries have decriminalized or
legalized cannabis for medical use.
SKEPTICISM
Shively acknowledges that his business
plans conflict with U.S. federal law and are
complicated by regulations in both
Washington state and Colorado. He said he
is interested in buying dispensaries that
comply with local and state rules and are
less likely to attract the scrutiny of
authorities.
"If they want to come talk to me, I'll be
delighted to meet with them," he said of
federal officials. "I'll tell them everything
that we're doing and show them all our
books."
Washington state's marijuana consultant,
Mark Kleiman, said he was skeptical of
Shively's plans, and feared that the
businessman is seeking to profit off others'
addiction.
"It's very hard for me to understand why
anybody seriously interested in being in
the marijuana business, which after all is
against the federal law, would so publicly
announce his conspiracy to break that
law," said Kleiman, a professor of public
policy at the University of California, Los
Angeles.
Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the U.S.
Attorney's Office in Seattle, referred
questions to the Department of Justice
headquarters. Department officials did not
immediately return calls seeking comment.
Washington state Representative Reuven
Carlyle, a Seattle Democrat, sees promise in
Shively's initiative. Any industry emerging
from the shadows will inevitably undergo
consolidation - and thereby simplify the
task of regulators, he said.
"The fact that an entrepreneur is publicly
pushing the envelope around a branding
and value-based pricing opportunity, I
would say that's in the water in Seattle,"
said Carlyle, chairman of the House Finance
Committee. "That's in our DNA ... We could
have predicted that as much as the rain."
Shively said he has already acquired the
rights to the Northwest Patient Resource
Center, a medical marijuana operation that
includes two Seattle store fronts. He added
that he was close to acquiring another
dispensary in Colorado, as well as two
more each in Washington state and
California, with the owners given the option
to retain a stake in their businesses.
"We've created the first risk-mitigated
vehicles for investing directly in this
business opportunity," he said.
Shively said he ultimately plans to create
separate medical and recreational-use
marijuana brands. Shively said he also
plans to launch a study of the effectiveness
of concentrated cannabis oil in the
treatment of cancer and other illnesses.