The Richards Reefer – why shouldn’t Britain get in on the cannabis trade?

There is no reason the UK should not be a big player in the legal cannabis trade, says Matthew Lynn.

It's hard to imagine that Bob Marley would have had much time for the private-equity industry. He wouldn't have thought much of spreadsheets and pie charts, and the only options he was interested in involved having a good time. But that hasn't stopped the private-equity boys taking an interest in the greatest of all reggae singers.

This month we learned that the Marley estate has teamed up with Privateer Holdings, an American buy-out firm, to launch Marley Natural, which it aims to turn into the first global cannabis company. The power of the Marley name he was, after all, virtually synonymous with the weed, and campaigned for its legalisation will, they believe, resonate powerfully with smokers everywhere.

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