When President Bill Clinton moved his family into the White House back in 1993, the overall vibe was that the mighty helm of America was about to be steered by the first pothead politician since Kennedy. Not only was Clinton the first presidential contender to openly admit to experimenting with pot, but he also had a look in his eyes that spoke to the constituents of the stoner nation as if to say, “I just ate my weight in pot brownies.”
High times during the Clinton Administration could have something to do with Hillary Clinton’s leading fundraising crony wanting to get in on the budding business of pot. A recent report from The Chicago Sun Times indicates that Windy City entrepreneur David Rosen has applied for several licenses to operate medical marijuana businesses in Illinois. Records obtained through the Better Government Association shows that Rosen’s tech company, Waveseer, is seeking permission from the state to run a medical marijuana cultivation business near Rockford, the third largest city in the Land of Lincoln.
Rosen’s relationship with the Clinton’s began well over a decade ago when he served as the campaign finance director for Hillary’s winning bid for the New York Senate. He then came to the Midwest and assisted Pat Quinn with his winning campaign for governor in 2010. The Sun Times reports that Rosen may sign on to raise money for Hillary Clinton once again if she decides to hop aboard the presidential campaign trail of 2016, which could be the main reason he remains somewhat tight-lipped about the possibility of growing weed.
In 2013, Illinois approved one of the strictest medical marijuana programs in the country, which allows only those patients suffering from serious health conditions, like cancer and AIDS, and those with an established relationship with a family physician to have access to medicinal herb.
Regulators with the Illinois Department of Health have been just as tough on the hundreds of applicants fighting for one of the state’s 21 cultivation licenses and 60 to operate dispensaries, forcing applicants to endure extensive background checks to even qualify for the cut.
Interestingly, previous legal troubles could have disqualified Rosen from the medical marijuana application process. He received a federal indictment several years ago for allegedly sandbagging a report that detailed the campaign contributions made to Hillary Clinton while in Los Angeles. In 2005, he was acquitted of the charges, which left him with nothing significant to hide when he filed the paperwork earlier this year to become an Illinois pot farmer.
The word on the street is that state regulators could reveal the winning medical marijuana licenses before the end of the week.
