Gum Billionaire William Wrigley Jr. Is Getting In On The Medical Marijuana Industry
Wrigley Field and chewing gum are likely to come to the forefront of someone’s mind when they hear the brand name Wrigley, but according to a report from West Palm Beach, the brand is about to get a new connotation with medical marijuana. William “Beau” Wrigley, Jr. will be joining countless other companies in starting a medical cannabis start-up. The Wrigley start-up will be called Surterra Wellness, and Wrigley, Jr. will be serving as chairman of the board.
The Wrigley Company was sold to Mars Inc. back in 2008, then Wrigley Jr. left the company which was founded by his grandfather to become current president of Wychwood Asset Management. His current company invests their assets into a variety of venture capital and private equity interests.
Wrigley, Jr. has led Surterra’s $65 million USD equity fundraiser recently, bringing in the total capital of more than $100 million USD to the Atlanta, Georgia based company. The state of Georgia legalized marijuana back in 2015, as was cited in AJC.
“When I understood the massive benefits, it really changed my mind about the [#MedicalCannabis] industry” – William “Beau” Wrigley Jr. II, Surterra’s new Chairman of the Board of Directors, via @Business: https://t.co/fNanTFzwFz pic.twitter.com/5IkwGFOSK9
— Surterra (@surterra) August 6, 2018
William Wrigley, Jr. spoke with journalists at the Chicago Tribune recently, giving his statement as to why he first gained an interest in the use of medical marijuana. According to Wrigley, he wishes to get involved in impacting people’s health, and believes medical marijuana can be used as such.
“I haven’t been this excited about a business in a very long time.This is about helping people. It can give people a normal life, let them go to school and be a normal member of society. It is incredible to craft that opportunity in an industry that is starting from scratch.”
Jake Bergman also spoke with the Chicago Tribune, remarking that the name Wrigley certainly will help move things along, stating, “It’s great to have verification from a well-known name brand and business leader that we are indeed a professional industry and the industry has grown up, so to speak.”
Surterra plans on using new funding for clinical trials. They will test the marijuana’s treatment capabilities for common conditions that medical marijuana is used for, such as pain, anxiety, and PTSD. The company has a license to operate in two states, Georgia and Florida. They plan to construct a cultivation space in Florida soon, hoping that Wrigley’s name can help to move their plans along among skeptics.
Bloomberg recently stated that although Surterra’s current products will be strictly geared toward medical marijuana use, Wrigley has commented that Surterra will eventually move to participation in the recreational United States market for marijuana.
