Maine's new Marijuana law (Portland: how much, taxes, prices)

[roadrat]

Well I wasn't thinking this would become a gun debate,All debate is good though, but lets look at some of the other side affects of the new law.
Isn't this going to basically destroy the Medical MJ business? Why bother with a prescription now?

Bill

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by TheKezarWoodsman

You can even be executed if caught leading a large scale operation...

It's tough enough to get even heinous murderers executed, I think it is rather unlikely that just growing dope (even on a large scale) would earn a seat on Death Row.

There are plenty of serious scumbags who are far more deserving of being snuffed (like Manson) but instead we spend a fortune keeping them alive behind bars.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by roadrat

Well I wasn't thinking this would become a gun debate,All debate is good though, but lets look at some of the other side affects of the new law.
Isn't this going to basically destroy the Medical MJ business? Why bother with a prescription now?

Bill

I attended one public event to discuss this bill and I watched a couple panel discussions on it. The 'Care-Giver' industry was pretty much against it's passage.

'Care-Givers' have invested a lot of time over the years to make medical MJ legal, and they have invested a lot to setup their grow operations. But under the current law their grow operations have been pretty small.

As you point out, now if anyone can grow, they would see their client base shrink.

[roadrat]

Originally Posted by Submariner

I attended one public event to discuss this bill and I watched a couple panel discussions on it. The 'Care-Giver' industry was pretty much against it's passage.

'Care-Givers' have invested a lot of time over the years to make medical MJ legal, and they have invested a lot to setup their grow operations. But under the current law their grow operations have been pretty small.

As you point out, now if anyone can grow, they would see their client base shrink.

Very true, There is a new Med MJ place opening in Winthrop right now (funny thing is the place was a gun shop/Glock Armorer that mostly served LEO's) They will mostly likely go bankrupt before they even open the doors.

interesting times we live in.


bill

[LordSquidworth]

Originally Posted by roadrat

Well I wasn't thinking this would become a gun debate,All debate is good though, but lets look at some of the other side affects of the new law.
Isn't this going to basically destroy the Medical MJ business? Why bother with a prescription now?

Bill

It'll be cheaper under the medical program than recreational. At least until it becomes legal at the Federal level, the dispensary can't compete with a medical grower. The dispensary cannot write off any of the costs of that dispensary. The cannabis grower can write of their costs.

You can write off the cost of making meth, you cannot write off the cost of selling it.

Originally Posted by Submariner

I attended one public event to discuss this bill and I watched a couple panel discussions on it. The 'Care-Giver' industry was pretty much against it's passage.

'Care-Givers' have invested a lot of time over the years to make medical MJ legal, and they have invested a lot to setup their grow operations. But under the current law their grow operations have been pretty small.

As you point out, now if anyone can grow, they would see their client base shrink.

Unlikely to shrink much. A lot of people that would be growing it are growing it already. A lot of people don't have the space for it. A lot of people don't have the time for it. They're not too much work grown outdoors, but if you don't have some sense of what you're doing it's easy to lose it all with one mistake.

Any drop off is most likely people not minding paying more at dispensaries. Most medical growers though should have no problem getting a recreational card. Those who have had their licenses for 2+ years go to the front of the line for the 800,000 sf of canopy space. Most growers could net $60,000 - $70,000 a year off less than 150 sf of canopy space.

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by LordSquidworth

Unlikely to shrink much. A lot of people that would be growing it are growing it already. A lot of people don't have the space for it. A lot of people don't have the time for it. They're not too much work grown outdoors, but if you don't have some sense of what you're doing it's easy to lose it all with one mistake.

I think that you're right. Not everyone wants to 'grow their own', whether it's food or pot. The med growers over-reacted. There is plenty of land available where the individual who wants to grow a few plants could already do it without much fear of being caught- the 'black choppers' aren't looking for a few plants in the woods, they're looking for large fields.

I doubt that the med growers will lose much, if any, business, and since they get priority on the rec grow licenses that can more than make it up there, if they *want* to expand.

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The feds need to step back and butt the heck out. If the states want to legalize it then they need to recognize that legality, it isn't right to maintain an opposing law and say "We say it's still 'wrong', so even if your states say it's OK we can still bust you."

Either that, or the feds need to take it to the USSC for a ruling under the Supremacy Clause (Article 6, Clause 2, federal law preempting state law) and attempt to strike it down as unconstitutional...which would, at the same time, serve as a test and precedent to strike down some of the states' attempts to preempt federal law by taking it upon themselves to restrict the abilities of citizens to exercise their rights under the 2nd Amendment and thereby infringing on it.

EDIT:

I don't know if I'm explaining myself quite clearly here, but I see the two issues as being similar in some respects, and the feds need to decide whether they are going to allow the States to preempt their power or not. If they are going to permit the States to regulate and infringe on 2A, then they likewise need to allow it with dope. Otherwise, they need to put the boot down on both issues.

Personally, in spite of the fact that I do not feel that pot should be illegal, I would rather see them assert their rule over both and slam the States' attempt to usurp the Feds, especially where the 2A is supposed to be a guaranteed Right enumerated in the Constitution and smoking dope is not. Then, after the Feds have flexed their muscles and put these situations to right, pot proponents can work on abolishing the federal law against it.

[Submariner]

There are many strains being developed for very specific cannabinoids. The Medical group are all into these cannabinoids and can talk your ear off about how each is different from the others for treating specific ailments. Their market is totally unique from the recreational market. A patient seeking treatment will likely want to find which strain is best suited to that ailment.

Whereas recreational users, I assume, want to get stoned. So anyone who can grow / market anything that get people stoned is all they would want.

In my mind the Care-Givers have their niche market and that is not going away.

[inthetrees]

Med growers only get priority on licenses if they have had 3 or more registered patients for 2 years.
So the little guy gets left behind.

[kevin5098]

Originally Posted by Zymer

I think that you're right. Not everyone wants to 'grow their own', whether it's food or pot. The med growers over-reacted. There is plenty of land available where the individual who wants to grow a few plants could already do it without much fear of being caught- the 'black choppers' aren't looking for a few plants in the woods, they're looking for large fields.

I doubt that the med growers will lose much, if any, business, and since they get priority on the rec grow licenses that can more than make it up there, if they *want* to expand.

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The feds need to step back and butt the heck out. If the states want to legalize it then they need to recognize that legality, it isn't right to maintain an opposing law and say "We say it's still 'wrong', so even if your states say it's OK we can still bust you."

Either that, or the feds need to take it to the USSC for a ruling under the Supremacy Clause (Article 6, Clause 2, federal law preempting state law) and attempt to strike it down as unconstitutional...which would, at the same time, serve as a test and precedent to strike down some of the states' attempts to preempt federal law by taking it upon themselves to restrict the abilities of citizens to exercise their rights under the 2nd Amendment and thereby infringing on it.

EDIT:

I don't know if I'm explaining myself quite clearly here, but I see the two issues as being similar in some respects, and the feds need to decide whether they are going to allow the States to preempt their power or not. If they are going to permit the States to regulate and infringe on 2A, then they likewise need to allow it with dope. Otherwise, they need to put the boot down on both issues.

Personally, in spite of the fact that I do not feel that pot should be illegal, I would rather see them assert their rule over both and slam the States' attempt to usurp the Feds, especially where the 2A is supposed to be a guaranteed Right enumerated in the Constitution and smoking dope is not. Then, after the Feds have flexed their muscles and put these situations to right, pot proponents can work on abolishing the federal law against it.

There are many who say that marijuana prohibition is unconstitutional. It took a Constitutional ammendment to ban alcohol. How can the federal government ban marijuana with a simple law?

As you have pointed out, it is a federal responsibility to uphold the 2A. They don't seem to take this as seriously as their responsibility to uphold other civil rights.

[Kiwiluver]

Have you ever watched " Reefer Madness"? That stuff will make you crazy!��