What does crude oil have to do with MMJ? During 1865-1875, John D. Rockefeller, Sr. bought up the myriad of oil fields, oil drillers, oil refineries, and oil purveyors that sprang up after the 1859 discovery of crude oil in Titusville, PA. John D. called his company the Standard Oil Co. At the time, crude oil products were used mostly for lubrication (wagon wheel grease), scalp tonic (John D. suffered from alopecia areata), and, its biggest use, lamp oil (kerosene replacing whale oil). They provided a good return, but Rockefeller had anticipated the incredible growth and expansion of steam engine railroads after the Civil War. Lubrication oil was essential in mechanical processes. Then, with the automobile's internal combustion engine coming after the 1890's, Rockefeller's fortunes soared to heights even he couldn't have fathomed in 1875.

Something similar will probably happen in MMJ. Big business will bid for and scoop up the myriad of small players when the rules of the road are clarified. The biggest firms are sitting on an unprecedented mountain of cash. Deloitte now says that a third of the biggest non-financial companies are sitting on most of the $2.8 trillion cash hoarded. Where else could a big firm achieve spectacular growth and the most bang for their buck but in a brand new sector of the economy that is blue sky and poised to reap billions? John D. would be salivating at the prospect.