MIAMI – The identity of the Wolf of Weed Street is a mystery.
The anonymous pseudonym is a parody of Jordan Belfort, a former stockbroker who is now a motivational speaker. Leonardo DiCaprio embodied him in the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street."
As opposed to Belfort, who was convicted of fraud crimes related to stock manipulation, the Wolf of Weed Street said he is "trying to help" educate people on "the next big thing."
A man, who identified himself as The Wolf of Weed Street, said he wants to be a good source of information on the industry. He said he earned a bachelor degree in English and creative writing. He said he worked in finance and hated it. One of the jobs was with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company as a financial adviser, he said.
The District of Columbia and 23 other states have laws allowing some form of medical marijuana. Gov. Rick Scott made a strain of medical marijuana known as Charlotte's Web legal in Florida June 16. Regulators met in Tallahassee Monday to discuss rules for the new market.
The Wolf of Weed Street said he began to invest in August 2013 after quitting a job as a disaster consultant. Earlier this year, he told BBC News business reporter Joe Miller that he had earned $515,000 after six months of trading medical marijuana industry stocks.
He said he "started out as a passive investor," which means he was not running a company.
In March, he founded the Wolf Analyst Group, a consulting service out of North Miami Beach. He said he employs six people. The Florida company is registered under Jason Spatafora, 35, and Amir Reiter, 31.
The Wolf of Weed Street uses social media and his website to share opinions and reports on the medical marijuana industry. He has about 20,000 followers on Twitter, and he said he has about 100,000 registered users and about 1,000 members who pay fees on his website.
He said he will be promoting his brand at the Marijuana Business Academy training event July 19-20 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Doral, 2505 NW 87th Ave.