Investors get-rich-quick scheme on marijuana-related domain names doesn’t pay off

Californian voters shot down Proposition 19 yesterday, the law that would have made it legal for marijuana to be sold for recreational use.

Last week, an article that appeared in The New York Times “Marijuana Web Names Snapped Up, in Case of Legalization” fueled dozens of articles around the subject of domain names and marijuana.

The article quoted members of the Domaining.com community including Mike Berkens, who pointed out that domain names mixed with politically charged topics can be lucrative, but the pay out heavily depends on politics.

It looks like investors who rushed to register these domain names won’t be cashing out any time soon.

Kevin Faler, a former police officer who was featured in the New York Times article, reportedly registered more than 1,000 marijuana-related domain names, which amounts to thousands of dollars in annual renewal fees.

It’s not to say Kevin Faler hasn’t made a profit, maybe he has maybe he hasn’t.  Or maybe he’ll make millions in a few years if the politics change, but banking on the get-rich-quick scheme in the short-term just hit a major roadblock for Kevin and likely dozens of more investors who scooped up marijuana-related domain names during the press frenzy.