Pubdate: Sat, 06 Sep 2014
Source: National Post (Canada)
Page: A6
Copyright: 2014 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Joe O'Connor

MARIJUANA MOGUL

Liberal Party CFO Turns Legal Weed Into Big Bucks

Chuck Rifici was 28 years old and newly rich, with $500,000 in the
bank, a windfall he reaped after selling the Internet start-up he
launched as a second-year engineering student at the University of
Ottawa. To celebrate his sudden wealth he did a few practical things,
such as buying an apartment in Ottawa and setting aside enough dough
to pay for an executive MBA at Queen's University, and a few
age-appropriate and impulsive things, like getting a silver Dodge
Viper luxury sports car. He eventually traded in the fast car for a
more practical ride upon learning, as the young and newly rich often
do, that riches have a way of running out faster than the newly rich
can find ways of spending them.

Eleven years later, Mr. Rifici is rich again, and not merely
half-a-million bucks rich, either, but closer to $20-million. It is a
paper net worth the co-founder of Tweed Marijuana Inc. has achieved
since his Health Canada-licensed medical marijuana grow-op, one of
only 13 in Canada, went public in April. Shares in the company, of
which Mr. Rifici owns eight million, were trading for $2.50 on Friday.

"I think, in life - cash is king," he said, musing upon his paper
fortune while driving his current car, a midsized Mercedes SUV, in the
Ottawa area. "Until the money is actually in the bank, you try and put
it out of your mind."

It is not always easy, especially when the federal Conservatives keep
reminding you about it. Mr. Rifici, see, is into weed and politics: He
moonlights - on a voluntary basis - as the CFO of the Liberal Party of
Canada. He was appointed to the position by former interim party
leader Bob Rae and has remained in it under the legalize-it-or-bust
reign of Justin Trudeau.

Steven Blaney, the Minister of Public Safety, has been outspokenly
critical of the relationship. Jason Tamming, a spokesman for the
minister, articulated Mr. Blaney's concerns in an interview this week.

"Justin Trudeau's signature policy is to legalize the sale of
marijuana, which would make it easier for our children to smoke," he
said. "Trudeau has made it clear that his vision of legalization would
make smoking marijuana a normal, everyday activity. Of course
legalization would benefit Mr. Trudeau's close millionaire friends
that are marketing marijuana to Canadians."

Mr. Rifici knows the criticism. But, he says, he does not know Justin
Trudeau. The closest he has ever come to having a one-on-one
conversation with the Liberal leader is shaking his hand at this or
that Liberal function, amid a cast of many. Personally, he is a beer
drinker.

Philosophically, when it comes to pot on the societal level - for
mass, not medical, use - he is a libertarian. His view: Let people do
what they want. And, if the government wants a piece of the action,
let them tax and regulate it. Professionally, he is a business guy,
specializing in start-ups, and always looking for the next big thing.

Eighteen months ago, he felt medical weed was it.

"I have been fortunate to be one of the early people to get to the
market with this," he says. "It is a Conservative government program
run by Health Canada, so I am probably a member of the worst party.
"Justin Trudeau and I aren't pals." (Mr. Rifici stepped down as
Tweed's CEO last week, a move, he says, that had nothing to do with
politics. He starts things. Tweed is now growing, and required a true
CEO at the helm to manage its growth. The co-founder retains a seat on
the board. And, ahem, eight million shares and a 20% ownership stake.)

Where Mr. Rifici has made lots of friends is in Smiths Falls, Ont.,
home of Tweed Marijuana Inc. Smiths Falls was once Ontario's
"Chocolate Capital."

The town's old water tower (since repainted) even proclaimed it as
thus. But Hershey, the maker of the chocolates, shuttered its factory
about six years ago. Hundreds lost their jobs, as did hundreds more
when several other manufacturing businesses closed.

Smiths Falls, population 9,000, lost 40% of its workforce in a matter
of months. Hershey, meanwhile, vacated its massive plant, which Mr.
Rifici resolved to fill with marijuana plants, a business venture that
received the blessing of Mayor Dennis Staples and council.

Tweed now has 50 employees, most of them locals, with that number
expected to grow to 100. The company has a stylized logo. Tweed, after
all, contains the word - weed. Questions from physicians or patients
about the business can be directed to:  tweed.com. The overall feel
is cheeky, and this playfulness extends to the names and descriptions
of the 17 strains of marijuana grown on site, including Chocolope, a
nod, perhaps, to Hershey's past that sells for $10 a gram and,
according to the website, produces a "euphoric, energetic and
creative" high.

The CFO of the Liberal party, meanwhile, has sampled two strains:
Bogart (for pain, insomnia and stress) and Bubba Kush (for tucking you
into bed). "I am happy with the product," he says.

He should be: It is making him rich.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D