“Scotts Miracle-Gro won’t sell marijuana in New York and New Jersey.
But the company’s hefty investment in lobbying for recreational cannabis legislation shows it’s setting itself up to reap a potential profit.
From vertical farming and hydroponic equipment to cannabis-oriented business lines, the last decade has seen Scotts realign itself with cannabis legalization around the country, even launching a subsidiary, Hawthorne Gardening Company, dedicated to cannabis-growing products.
But Scotts, the company known for selling its Miracle-Gro fertilizer and marketing Monsanto’s RoundUp herbicide, is not taking any chances.
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Scotts has spent nearly $430,000 lobbying in New York since 2017, according to records filed with the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics.
According to the New York records, Scotts has its own in-house lobbyists and has hired two firms to represent it before the state, including the major Albany lobbying firm of Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, which the company is paying $8,300 a month for its services.
The other firm is Kivvit, which Scotts is paying $1,000 monthly. Among Kivvit’s listed lobbyists are Rich Bamberger, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s former communications director, and Maggie Moran, Cuomo’s former campaign manager.”
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Marroquin, Mario. Ashbury Park Press 25 March 2021.