Brendan Kennedy, the CEO of Seattle-based private equity firm Privateer Holdings, predicted at an Ireland tech summit this week that marijuana will be legalized at the federal level in the U.S. in two or three years.
There is some discrepancy on the timeline, since USA Today quoted Kennedy as estimating that legalization will occur “within the next two years,” while Business Insider reported his prediction at three years.
But according to the reports, Kennedy believes the election of Justin Trudeau as Canada’s new prime minister will have a good bit to do with cannabis reform in general. During his campaign, Trudeau vowed to legalize recreational marijuana in his country.
If the cannabis industry does make further inroads internationally, Privateer is one company that’s already a step ahead, as it owns the Canadian medical cannabis producer Tilray.
