The marijuana biz (bankrupt, capitalism, taxable, real estate)
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As our nation stumbles its way out an epic economic mess, all the so called experts on the financial TV programs keep looking for "green chutes" in the economic picture. CNBC has figured out one of them, and did a one hour documentary called Marijuana Inc.
Today, as I was eating lunch at Wahoo's Fish Tacos and reading the OC Weekly (free weekly publication here in Orange County, CA) I noticed a 30 page "pull out" section called "The Rolling Paper, your guide to medical marijuana, Enjoy!".
Just to clarify, I am not a pot smoker, nor do I have any interest or need in using it. I am somewhat libertarian when it comes to using the green stuff, if you want to use it, OK, but don't give it to kids, don't be driving around stoned, and not at my house or in my face with the smoke. The pros or cons of pot use is NOT the topic here. The topic I am bringing up is legal businesses that are medical marijuana dispensaries.
Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed what a big business the legal medical marijuana dispensaries have become, rather suddenly? Technically the drug is still illegal, but here in CA, if you have a doctor's note and a pocket full of green cash you can get your share of some green weed, legally. In today's Rolling Paper, I found out there is a medical marijuana dispensary with it's own medical doctor, just 3 blocks from my apartment in a "high end" medical office building, not some "head shop" in a sleazy part of town. And there are 10 other dispensaries in my town and over 100 here in Orange County.
Is this legal trade making a dent in the illegal business of marijuana sales by the drug cartels? I would think so. You don't have to risk jail to buy the stuff at the dispensaries. The stuff at the dispensaries is locally grown and guaranteed not to be laced with pesticides or dangerous artificial stuffing or additives. That alone would cause a lot of people to stay away from what is sold on the street corners by the illegal dealers.
One thing for sure, a lot of the ad business (such as from real estate offices or car dealers) that evaporated from some of our local publications like the OC Weekly has been replaced by all the medical marijuana clinics. Page after page of ads. And these clinics are paying sales taxes to our local cities.
Is this going on in your area? What do you think about it? If you were looking to start a business, would you consider a medical marijuana clinic as a possibility?
One other thing, there is an entirely new vocabulary in the ads for the medical marijuana dispensaries. And a whole host of related businesses that tag along with the dispensaries, like home delivery services such as "The Speedy Weedy" or "Spliff in a Jiff". Or the burger shop located next to a large dispensary that advertises "Got the munchies?" with half off coupons available from the dispensary. You've got to admit, the green chutes of raw capitalism are alive and well in the medical marijuana biz.
As far as starting/opening a dispensary, you might enjoy some profits right now, but I see the future of this business becoming very competitive if marijauna ever becomes legal, which I think it will become. I can picture the price of marijuana falling closer to the price of tobacco if many more dispensaries are allowed to open or if it becomes legal. Not sure if there is a price floor/ceiling these dispensaries must stay within right now. Yes this will ultimately hurt the cartels, which will decrease their power and influence
If marijuana is restored to legal status, the drug dealers will finally be eliminated. Why pay for weed that you can grow in your own yard? It would cost the same as lettuce.
California needs to legalize it and tax the hell out of it. So much of the cost of Marijuana is related to the risks involved in its growth/distribution and not the actual production. The state government could charge large taxes on marijuana sales and it could still be cheaper than what it is today.
Not only that, California could become the Marijuana supplier to the rest of the nation. People would just transport it illegally across state lines rather than from Mexico, etc.
There is an absolutely huge industry that has grown up and revolves around the arrest and jailing of minor drug offenders. These people, who are making outrageous amounts of money, don't want the status quo changed.
You mean the private prison business, and companies like Wackenhut? Yes, no doubt a huge industry. I would not be surprised if 50 or 60% of their inmates are minor drug offenders of some sort. That's a whole other subject to itself, and I agree that private prisons benefit more from the "war on drugs" than most any other sector of the economy or society.
I don't know if the medical marijuana dispensaries have appeared on such a large scale in other states like has occurred in California in the last 2 years or so. It started out with a handful in places like Oakland, San Francisco and Santa Cruz, but now these outlets are more plentiful than McDonalds in most every medium to large city in the state.
I don't know what the tax rate is on the weed that is sold at the dispensaries. That's a good question. CA state sales tax is about 9 percent, but if the marijuana is dispensed as a "medicine", it might be exempt from regular sales tax?? I am ignorant about a lot of this stuff. California state government is bankrupt and broke, and I would think our brilliant law makers would consider something like a "higher" tax on medical marijuana.
I don't know what the tax rate is on the weed that is sold at the dispensaries. That's a good question. CA state sales tax is about 9 percent, but if the marijuana is dispensed as a "medicine", it might be exempt from regular sales tax?? I am ignorant about a lot of this stuff. California state government is bankrupt and broke, and I would think our brilliant law makers would consider something like a "higher" tax on medical marijuana.
As I understand you have to have a prescription to buy it and I would argue that the purchase falls in the non-taxable category, unless an exception was made when the law was enacted legalizing medical marijuana. I'd be very interested to hear how the tax laws affect the purchase.
I don't know if the medical marijuana dispensaries have appeared on such a large scale in other states like has occurred in California in the last 2 years or so. It started out with a handful in places like Oakland, San Francisco and Santa Cruz, but now these outlets are more plentiful than McDonalds in most every medium to large city in the state.
Hey Recycler, take a look at Colorado. They are literally experiencing THE GREAT MEDICAL MARIJUANA GOLD RUSH. Zero to one hundred shops in the space of 9 months around Boulder-Denver.
Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! I knew I shoulda never moved out of there!
Apparently when our new Attorney General Eric Holder replaced that disgusting corrupt walking retched dead-corpse Mukasey and came out and said the Obama-lama admin was not gonna go after the medi-buds reefer merchants, that just BLEW THE DAMN LID OFF THE WHOLE THING. Ummm, I'm sorry, I meant to say, A WHOLE LOTTA LIDS CAME BLOWIN' THRU TOWN. No wait a minute, I mean, umm, HEY BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A LID?
Last edited by POhdNcrzy; 12-15-2009 at 01:21 AM..
Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by recycled
You mean the private prison business, and companies like Wackenhut? Yes, no doubt a huge industry. I would not be surprised if 50 or 60% of their inmates are minor drug offenders of some sort. That's a whole other subject to itself, and I agree that private prisons benefit more from the "war on drugs" than most any other sector of the economy or society.
I don't know if the medical marijuana dispensaries have appeared on such a large scale in other states like has occurred in California in the last 2 years or so. It started out with a handful in places like Oakland, San Francisco and Santa Cruz, but now these outlets are more plentiful than McDonalds in most every medium to large city in the state.
I don't know what the tax rate is on the weed that is sold at the dispensaries. That's a good question. CA state sales tax is about 9 percent, but if the marijuana is dispensed as a "medicine", it might be exempt from regular sales tax?? I am ignorant about a lot of this stuff. California state government is bankrupt and broke, and I would think our brilliant law makers would consider something like a "higher" tax on medical marijuana.
The United States of America has the highest incarceration rate in the world. It is home to a little less than 5% of the world’s population, but holds 25% of the world’s prisoners. According to a U.S. Justice Department Report, as of this year, over 7.2 million people are in prison, on probation, or on parole. That means 1 in every 32 Americans are in the system. According to the International Center of Prison Studies at King’s College London, out of that 7.2 million 2.3 million are behind bars.
You mean the private prison business, and companies like Wackenhut? Yes, no doubt a huge industry.....
It's not just the prisons. You could cut every medium and major police department in 1/2 and the FBI could downsize as well. There are endless businesses that are also devoted to serving these industries. There are lots and lots of profits from lawyers to bondsmen, even to the auto companies supplying police cars that would be affected. This is why they keep the mere possession of marijuana a crime in most places.
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