Monthly Archives: October 2013

The legalization and decimalization of marijuana has been a major point of controversy throughout our history. Many intellects and government officials have been discussed the positives and negatives of allowing the distribution of the drug, yet the argument is always perpetual; if legalized and decimalized, the industry would no doubt improve our economy. Yet, if left illegal, health and safety risk suffered by those who use marijuana, will stay less prevalent. On Sunday, September 29^th, an article was published on CTV.ca entitled “Federal government launching $1.3-billion free market in medical marijuana”. The article explains that the conservative government has decided, to invest 1.3 billion dollars in the medical marijuana industry with the goal to provide 450 000 Canadians with a more reliable, healthy, good quality marijuana. The marijuana would be used primarily for those who suffer extremely painful deceases and need the drug to help elevate the pain.  Is this a step in the eventual legalization of this infamous drug? And how exactly will this have an effect on the Canadian Economy? Firstly, this advancement will provide more marijuana growers the opportunity to grow their weed legally; therefore, creating an increase in employment rates. There has already been 156 firms that have applied for producer and distributor status, and the government predicts a much more efficient distribution for the future. Furthermore, prior to this change, supply of this drug was significantly lower then the demand for it, thus creating excess demand. With this excess demand, the black market had a huge presence and illegals sales were extremely common. People are paying way more then the equilibrium price, meaning they are paying way more then necessary to satisfy the consumer and the producer. This change hopefully will bring the industry closer to its equilibrium price as well as eliminate some of the black market activity as well. There will always be controversy when it comes to marijuana and its legalization due to the different opinions surrounding the drug. If kept controlled and regulated, I believe that the legalization and the decimalization could assists the improvement in our economy; therefore, this advancement is simply a step in the right direction toward this.

Do you think it’s wrong to acquire merchandise in the United States? Then go on to use that merchandise to create a new business? This question has been discussed quite strongly amongst the owners of the hugely successful American grocery store company “Trader Joe’s” and local entrepreneur Michael Hallatt, creator of the local grocery store “Pirate Joe’s”. I was lucky enough to hear Hallatt speak at this years Sauder Frosh, and was blown away by his bravery and willingness to take risks. At this point he was unsure of the future of his new company. Yet, interestingly enough about a month after Frosh an article came out with insight on it’s future. In this article, it stated that, against all odds, Mr. Pirate Joe’s had done the impossible. He had won the lawsuit against the mighty “Trader Joe’s”! This article showed that in business, it’s all about taking risks; thus resulting in big rewards. It’s not always easy, and there might be bumps along the way but if one is committed and believes in his or her company, the impossible can become a reality. Furthermore, negatives can be transformed into positives. Like in the case of Hallatt’s “Pirate Joe’s”, even through the lawsuit, the little business gained major publicity and became known as the underdog competing against big competition. Currently, Hallatt has gone from spending 350, 000 on goods, unsure on if he would ever gain if back, to successfully winning a lawsuit against a company stronger and much more powerful then him.

This week in Commerce 101, our assignment was to create a SWOT analysis for one of the biggest energy drink companies in the world, Monster Energy Drink. It was a very interesting and challenging assignment. Learning how to research a company’s attributes in great detail was a very eye opening experience. I discovered the challenges it takes to market a product with many outside factors affecting your company directly and indirectly. For example, Monster suffers a significant amount of scrutiny when it comes to health accusations. This can have a major effect on it’s sales and it’s amount of consumers. I know personally after reading a vast amount of articles on the subject, I will not be purchasing a Monster Energy Drink again. Furthermore, I learned the challenges a company can have internally. It is crucial to have a strong marketing team and financial group in order to keep a business successful; as well as having them working cohesively. With continuous competing companies pressuring the ongoing success of a company, innovation and organization is key when running a business.