Humboldt County, California – Philip Morris, the world’s largest tobacco manufacturer, announced yesterday that they will take part in the growing market of legal marijuana by producing marijuana cigarettes. The new product, which will be patented under the brand “Marlboro M”, will be made available to the public for sale in Colorado and Washington State.
George McHadden, who has been named as the new Vice President for the Marlboro M brand, stated in an interview that the company has been interested for quite sometime in the marketing and distribution of cannabis products. According to McHadden, the company has been pushing legislation for the taboo market in Colorado, Washington, California and New Jersey. Based on market trends and legislation being passed in two of the four states the company has focused on, Philip Morris feel extremely comfortable in moving forward with it’s Marlboro M brand.
McHadden added that the company has purchased a few hundred acres of land in California, Nicaragua (Central America), and Amsterdam to began mass cultivation of their supply. It was also mentioned that deals have been made with U.S. Border Protection and Customs to exclusively import their product from foreign lands into the U.S. for production.
Currently, tobacco products are banned in advertisements and promotions in the United States, which has prompted Philip Morris to push for legislation to allow the marketing of their Marlboro M brand via television, radio, and print advertisements. The company has set aside a $75 billion advertising budget to promote the new “Marlboro M” and seem to have secured advertising spots with major media outlets and publishers, to assist in their hopeful 2016 Marlboro M campaign.
McHadden also revealed that Philip Morris plans to begin marketing the Marlboro M brand mid 2016. The company has acquired airtime in Colorado and Washington State and also plan to through a festival in Denver in the Summer of 2016. McHadden also indicated that Philip Morris has secured commercial deals with Miley Cyrus, Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, John Mayer, Riff Raff, and actor Jack Black to help market the Marlboro M brand.
Philip Morris shares dropped slightly after their press release however the company is optimistic that sales will increase ten-fold raising their stock through the roof once their Marlboro M brand is available to the public.
