Former Microsoft exec to launch a chain of stores selling marijuana cigars

Ex-Microsoft executive James Shively is planning to open a chain of retail outlets dedicated to selling ‘fine cigars’ containing medical marijuana.

The Register reports that Shively is planning to name the product after his great-great grandfather Diego Pellicer.

"By creating the category of premium marijuana, we want to position it similar to a fine cognac, a fine brandy, a fine cigar," Shively said. "Something to be savoured and enjoyed, in small quantities by responsible adults."

The former Microsoft work is apparently buying up medical marijuana dispensaries in the states of Washington and Colorado, and with the marijuana industry having no single established brand, Shively believes the business will produce more millionaires than his former employer.

"Let’s go big or go home," Shively reportedly told the press. "We’re going to mint more millionaires than Microsoft with this business."