New York Times story on marijuana-related domain names fuels dozens of articles

An article that appeared in The New York Times earlier this week entitled “Marijuana Web Names Snapped Up, in Case of Legalization” has fueled dozens of articles around the subject of domain names and marijuana because of next week’s vote on Proposition 19, the California ballot measure that would legalize marijuana.

While Proposition 19 is not a subject I really care to discuss, the article featured quotes from two prominent members of the Domaining.com blogging community, Shane Cultra of Domain Shane, and Mike Berkens of The Domains – two of my favorite bloggers within the Domain industry.

Shane, who doesn’t buy and sell adult related domains, was quoted by The New York Times as saying: “There is tremendous investment opportunity there”, referring to buying up marijuana-related domain names.  But marijuana-related domains aren’t something Shane is investing in. 

As the article points out: “In late September, Shane Cultra, 41, was bidding in an online auction for the domain smokingmarijuana.com when suddenly he stopped, midclick. “I asked myself, do I want to be in that business?”

Mike Berkens, one of the most well-respected bloggers in the Domain industry, points out that domain names mixed with politically charged topics can be lucrative.  That is, if the politics go the way of the domain name.

…Mr. Berkens thinks marijuana domains could be a good investment; he sees the political momentum moving toward legalization and decriminalization. “We own gaymarriage.com,” said Mr. Berkens, who is also president of Worldwide Media, a company that owns some 75,000 domains, 57 of them marijuana related. “That’s another one of these politically charged hot topics, heavily dependent on politics.”

Dozens of news articles spring up online

As a result of the story that appeared in the widely published news source, dozens and dozens of articles have been written since.  Here’s a look at a handful.

Marijuana Legalization Stocks – Benzinga

Get your pot-related URL now – CNET

People buying up pot-themed domain names – VatorNews

Marijuana web domains snapped up ahead of California legalisation – Joe.ie

1,000s of marijuana domains registered in US – silicon republic