CA's $1.5B pot industry to ask voters for state regulation (Mendocino: home, to buy)
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If it were legal for recreational use than it would be regulated just like alcohol. I don't know why that is so hard to understand...Kind of a moot point though since it isn't legal for recreational use.
If pot were legal for recreational use prices would plummet and there wouldn't be enough profit in it for the criminals. Back during alcohol prohibition the mob was making a killing smuggling the stuff. How much alcohol do you see smuggled across the borders today? When you can legally purchase the stuff at any convenience store the answer is none.
I do not know what percentage of the prison population is in on pot related offenses.. But imaging freeing up that prison space, downsizing or keeping the sex offenders behind bars instead of letting them out on parole, so we can make room in prison for some kid for selling a joint..
Prohibition=crime... It always has... Not to mention this would untangle industrial fiber/oil hemp production from the mess.
Pot has no side effects? There was no good reason why it has long been frowned upon by almost all the world? Interesting...
By almost all the world huh?
Even if that was true, giving that kind of credit to "the masses" is ludicrous ... not to mention dangerous.
Baaaahhhhhhhh.
Marijuana was demonized.
People are easily influenced and they also tend to fear what they are not familiar with.
All movements blow it, because they aren't regulated at all. It's a free for all, flying under the law. What do you expect??
It's not up to "the movement" to prove anything. The legal status of marijuana has nothing to do with that.
The dispensaries were within the law. What did I expect? Responsibility, not a bunch of yahoos pretending they had cancer and eye problems with dispensaries giving a wink-wink nudge-nudge. How can that have nothing to do with the legal status of marijuana? My issue with the "movement" is its fatuous claims that legalization is some sort of event horizon that will open up new dimensions in revenue, public safety, justice...!--thorough naivete.
Think unintended consequences. Yes, they're hard to understand unless you (the general "you") don't want to think of them. But think first at least. Poor decisions are costly. How does anyone know prices will go down with taxes and regulation when production is currently untaxed and unregulated? Will the blackmarket disappear? You might say yes, I quite reasonably say no way.
The dispensaries were within the law. What did I expect? Responsibility, not a bunch of yahoos pretending they had cancer and eye problems with dispensaries giving a wink-wink nudge-nudge.
Your beef should be with the doctors writing the recommendations, not the dispensaries.
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How does anyone know prices will go down with taxes and regulation when production is currently untaxed and unregulated? Will the blackmarket disappear? You might say yes, I quite reasonably say no way.
I'm sure people said the same thing about alcohol before prohibition was ended. They were dead wrong. Just like alcohol prohibition the black market would disappear if marijuana was legalized due to market forces.
As far as medical marijuana people have to get a doctor's recommendation and purchase it through a relatively small number of dispensaries which keeps prices high. It's pretty basic economics, limit supply and prices stay high. Why do you think the most of the medical marijuana industry opposed proposition 19 (legalized recreational use)? They know it would drive prices down and likely put them out of business.
You sure that's true? .... that "most of the medical marijuana industry opposed prop. 19?"
I'm thinking that's not true but if it is i'd like to see some stats on that and also, i'm a total dummy regarding everything economic so i don't understand your statement about legalization putting the "them" out of business.
Those who grow for the collectives and those who sell medical marijuana now would just adjust to the new laws (full legalization) and would continue to partake in the business.
Also, i don't know about the entire state but the "dispensaries" that i'm familiar with in Santa Cruz county are (or are supposed to be as far as i understand) non-profit / collectives ... what that means exactly and how that works, i don't know.
Jaijai,
I am no expert here, but as part of my research on moving to Mendocino/Fort Bragg area, I needed to try and understand the impact/influence of the pot industry on the community.
It is my take that yes, legalization would put "them" out of business.. "they" Mendocino/Humboldt growers are already hurting, with all the indoor medical marijuana grow operations specific dispensaries, in and near large metropolitan areas. There is less demand for outdoor grown pot from up north, since medical marijuana law.. Everyone just grows indoor local to urban areas.
Apparently, yes the outdoor growers want regulation and enforcement to keep the foreign drug cartels out of the national forests and such.. (They, the growers have to raise families in the communities too.) But, legalization would hurt prices..
Next it seems we will see "green" marketing campaigns, stating outdoor natural grown is less of a carbon foot print and better for the environment kind of thing... Market economics at work..
This is my understanding so far as an outsider from it all. (It seems to be a complex touchy subject with Mendocino residents)...
It would be nice to hear from some of them, to confirm "I have it right"
I was just heading out the door but first read your post so i only have a sec.
Like i said, i'm an economic dummy.
But i don't understand why full legalization would hurt growers.
There will still be demand ... as much as ever and and possibly more.
Why would the price go down? Why would sales be lessened?
Your beef should be with the doctors writing the recommendations, not the dispensaries.
My beef is with everyone involved in scamming a well-intentioned medical purpose. THC is a drug. Pretending to be sick to get it is illegal abuse, drug abuse. I ultimately blame no one but the abuser.
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Originally Posted by Dunbar42
I'm sure people said the same thing about alcohol before prohibition was ended. They were dead wrong. Just like alcohol prohibition the black market would disappear if marijuana was legalized due to market forces.
As far as medical marijuana people have to get a doctor's recommendation and purchase it through a relatively small number of dispensaries which keeps prices high. It's pretty basic economics, limit supply and prices stay high. Why do you think the most of the medical marijuana industry opposed proposition 19 (legalized recreational use)? They know it would drive prices down and likely put them out of business.
Let me repeat that equating alcohol to pot is simplistic. Home stills were not only dangerously explosive but the process could also leech toxins into the product. That's why alcohol production is controlled. Marijuana, on the other hand, I can grow right now. Anyone can.
It's called weed for a reason; it's an opportunistic plant, and that goes for its growers too. As far as I can imagine we'd still have illicit proliferation, even more if it's to be legalized. So the law enforcement arguments wash both ways.
Now, this is an "industry" thread so it's a perfectly tenable argument to allow capitalism to find its markets. Do we want Big Pot, just like Big Alcohol and Big Tobacco? That's what lowers prices, but that's also up for discussion. Do we want a Big Pot industry? First look to recent history in Alaska. They legalized marijuana in 1975 then recriminalized it in 1999. Why? What can we learn from their experience to move forward properly?
But i don't understand why full legalization would hurt growers. There will still be demand ... as much as ever and and possibly more.
Why would the price go down? Why would sales be lessened?
Here is an article where one of the dispensary trade groups is opposing prop 19. And here is another one about why growers opposed it. The reason they oppose it is because if prices drop than so do profit margins. Lower profit margins mean many of them wouldn't be able to make a living at it anymore. The current system is very restrictive. With the exception of Mendocino County, which allows certain growers up to 100 plants, individual growers can only grow in a 10'x10' space. They also have to be willing to face very serious federal sentencing guidelines that could put them to jail for life if the federal government decided to prosecute them. Do you really think it costs $1500-8000 to grow a pound of marijuana? Of course not, it's a combination of state regulations that keep supply low and the "jail risk" growers and sellers face. Incidentally, those are the same forces that keep illicit street drug prices very high.
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Originally Posted by Bunjee
Let me repeat that equating alcohol to pot is simplistic. Home stills were not only dangerously explosive but the process could also leech toxins into the product. That's why alcohol production is controlled. Marijuana, on the other hand, I can grow right now. Anyone can.
Dude, look at youtube, it is perfectly safe to brew your own beer. Ditto for wine. Most people choose not to brew it themselves for the sake of convenience. Do I want to spend hours of my free time brewing my own or $15-20 to buy a case of beer at the supermarket? It's also illegal to sell home brewed beer in most states, you can only brew it for personal consumption.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bunjee
First look to recent history in Alaska. They legalized marijuana in 1975 then recriminalized it in 1999. Why? What can we learn from their experience to move forward properly?
The DEA isn't exactly an objective source of information when it comes to drug policy.
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