Black market pot in Oregon (Salem, Bend: apartment, house, buying)

[BBMW]

When states started legalizing pot, one of the claims was that it would push the illegal drug dealers out of the business, since the users would just buy legal weed. Everyone look at CO to see if this would happen.

But CO had a problem. Pot legalization was shoved down the throat of the CO state government by referendum, and the government didn't really want it. So they made pot very heavily regulated so production basically went to the "luxury" market, and didn't come anywhere near meeting demand. So there's still a good sized underground pot market.

I've heard that OR is different. The government was on board with legalization, and didn't put much in the way of outright interference. The legal market took off, to the point where I've heard that there's too much supply and competition, and the retailers are struggling.

So after all that my question is, what is happening with the black market for weed in OR? Is it still there? Is it doing well? Or has it been squeezed out by the legal supply?

[Larry Caldwell]

Unlike many states, Oregon allows people to grow their own, and the hot dry summers produce very high quality weed. State law allows I think 3 or 4 plants per address, but you can only keep 6 ounces of the dried plant. If someone has a good crop, they spread it around to their friends. I don't know of anyone who actually pays for pot. I live in rural Southern Oregon, which is where all the commercial grow operations set up, because the dry climate minimizes mildew problems.

Legalization destroyed the black market in my area. I suppose apartment dwellers and transients would be a market, but even there a lot of weed is free. I went to a party at a friend's house in Salem last year, and somebody left a big bag of bud as a gift, probably 4 or 5 ounces. My friend didn't even smoke weed.

I can't tell you if the pot shops have affected the black market, but assume being able to just go to the store without the hassle of finding supply would be a big plus. Being able to find sublingual or edibles would be a big advantage for people who don't smoke, and those items never were available on the black market. In the case of edibles, a tested THC content would be critical for avoiding an OD.

[McFrostyJ]

I have a friend and a sister-in-law that both now use marijuana for medical purposes. It has cut their medication costs down to almost zero and they are no longer on any pills.

When it first became legal, I studied up on how to grow it indoors using three small tents. What I found is that it is SUPER easy to grow and all you really need is good soil, good water and light. You don't even need the fancy grow lights. I just used two different types of compact fluorescents, one in the vegge tent and a different one in the bloom tent. I didn't even use very many bulbs either. I used so little that my electric bill went up less than $5 a month. I also used no fertilizers.

I grew for almost three years and always kept them supplied and at no charge to them. At the end of 2018, I decided that I wanted my spare room back. So I took down the tents and taught them each to grow for themselves.

I don't know why anyone would pay for marijuana. But I do see a lot of people at the pot stores when I pass by.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Large drug busts are still happening on Central Oregon highway 97 of Marijuana being brought in from Mexico. I don't know the final destination, whether it is intended for Oregon or not, but they wouldn't be smuggling it if they couldn't sell it.


Smugglers with large amounts are still getting jail time.



Apparently, a large percentage of the legally grown marijuana in Oregon is illegally shipped out to other states, so there is a black market in the outgoing direction.


If I wanted marijuana myself, I'd just grow my own, but a lot of people don't have much luck with plants because they won't put in the effort. For them, it is easier to buy.

[BBMW]

^
I definitely believe that there's illegal outflow. That'll happen until all the states legaluze.

[PNW-type-gal]

The local paper has had a lot of stories on it (including the quasi-federally-legal non-THC hemp crop, which was a massive money-loser this year for more than half the local farmers) and larger-scale illegal pot is definitely headed out to other states where it is much, MUCH more lucrative. One of the articles included a link in it on pot prices and when I checked it (I can't remember the name of the site now) it showed Oregon consistently $50-$100 an ounce cheaper than other legalized states. The states where it is illegal, particularly on the east coast, show up as more than twice as much. That probably varies by time of year.

I am pretty sure there is still a lot of illegal pot here, but it just isn't all that profitable. When you buy from a dispensary, allegedly you know what you are getting and that it isn't pesticide-laced. The dispensary prices are not that high here, so the black market stuff would have to be cheap with thinner margins.

My favorite legal product is a salve made from CBD, THC, various oils and herbs. It's pretty much Tiger Balm-like with pot in it. I use it on a hand and foot problem. I also use a CBD oil for my elderly dog, who can't tolerate Rimadyl.

BTW, if you have Netflix, there is a series called ROTTEN that has an episode on the edibles market and it includes a bust made up toward Bend. There is also the series EXPLAINED which has an episode on cannabis and the changes over the years.

[texasdiver]

There's a black market in pot in the schools still. As kids can't legally buy pot until age 21. So you still have druggie pot-head kids selling pot to their friends in schools same as it's always been. Although vaping has become much more popular than smoking pot. I see kids vaping all the time (I'm a teacher). I assume it is mostly nicotine that they are vaping but I really don't know. Some are probably also vaping THC so there is probably a black market in that as well.

[BBMW]

Yeah, the underage thing will always be illegal, but I wonder if the dealers selling to kids are buying off the black market, or buying legal weed from the dispensaries, and selling it to the kids at a mark up?

Originally Posted by texasdiver

There's a black market in pot in the schools still. As kids can't legally buy pot until age 21. So you still have druggie pot-head kids selling pot to their friends in schools same as it's always been. Although vaping has become much more popular than smoking pot. I see kids vaping all the time (I'm a teacher). I assume it is mostly nicotine that they are vaping but I really don't know. Some are probably also vaping THC so there is probably a black market in that as well.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by BBMW

Yeah, the underage thing will always be illegal, but I wonder if the dealers selling to kids are buying off the black market, or buying legal weed from the dispensaries, and selling it to the kids at a mark up?

My guess is that it is black market pot. Because they are probably dealing more than just pot. But what do I know. It's probably different in each school depending on what little local hoodlums are doing the dealing.

[sam812]

I am just guessing that Oregon is like Colorado and the other legal recreational states.There is enough black market weed to sink a battle ship sold almost daily. This is because they are supplying the surrounding states that do not have legal weed. They use BM weed because you can only buy small amounts legally. I live in a state that it is still illegal and EVERYONE I know that smokes weed is smoking weed from Colorado because it is the closest.