Posted on 12/27/2018 2:38:53 PM PST by Mariner
When Californians voted in 2016 to allow the sale of recreational marijuana, advocates of the move envisioned thousands of pot shops and cannabis farms obtaining state licenses, making the drug easily available to all adults within a short drive.
But as the first year of licensed sales comes to a close, California’s legal market hasn’t performed as state officials and the cannabis industry had hoped. Retailers and growers say they’ve been stunted by complex regulations, high taxes and decisions by most cities to ban cannabis shops. At the same time, many residents are going to city halls and courts to fight pot businesses they see as nuisances, and police chiefs are raising concerns about crime triggered by the marijuana trade.
Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, who played a large role in the legalization of cannabis, will inherit the numerous challenges when he takes office in January as legislators hope to send him a raft of bills next year to provide banking for the pot industry, ease the tax burden on retailers and crack down on sales to minors.
“The cannabis industry is being choked by California’s penchant for over-regulation,” said Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML, a pro-legalization group. “It’s impossible to solve all of the problems without a drastic rewrite of the law, which is not in the cards for the foreseeable future.”
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Street pot is too available in CA, why go to a legal shop for twice the price?
[When multiplied by even 10 million adults, it’s much, much bigger.
6 plants to maturity, outdoors in the ground will produce no less than 25lbs of trimmed buds.]
And they probably spent the tax money they were hoping to realize from sales.
“And they probably spent the tax money they were hoping to realize from sales.”
Absolutely, several times over.
But for some reason the state still has a massive surplus.
These people are nuts. It would be a lot simpler to just have people grow however much pot they want, and pay taxes on the profits from the sale of those plants. But this being California ...
According to my associates that indulge, around here the going rate seems to be around $10/gram.
No.
They just grow it. By the millions.
I’m surprised you can’t smell it...wherever you reside.
[But for some reason the state still has a massive surplus.]
Colorado has the 6 plant law too. Hasn’t impeded them any. Spawned a bit of a cottage industry for non-pot roommates, gives a house more people so you can grow more plants. Sounds like the licensing and city regs are what got in the way.
That’s the black market rate in CA.
Retail is $15/gr for low to mid grade.
Hard to bustle when you’re stoned!
There’s two pot stores within walking distance of my house, and THREE converted warehouses for growers.
The parking lots at the stores are almost always empty when I go by.
“Towelie” writes a book...and fooled Oprah is one of my favorite SP episodes.
[No.
They just grow it. By the millions.]
Happy New Year, Tom!
“What if some “farmer” grew his crop on the equivalent of a Superfund site, while using banned pesticides to keep the bugs at bay?”
If I were a pot smoker I would care.
It seems the state is trying to regulate that for the commercial growers, forcing every batch to be independently tested.
But the legal market is only about 10% of what’s produced.
Back in the mid-80’s, Oz’s of hydroponic skunk were $100. Two hit shit. Lasted a while!
Maybe they should offer free pot to homeless and pot junkies in exchange for them picking up human feces, and garbage from the sidewalk. That way they could get rid of the pooper scoopers they pay a salary to, and save money. Won’t have to pay them work benefits, since the benefit would be the free pot.
This could be a first. California taxes and regulates a new industry to death before it even gets off the ground!
[It seems the state is trying to regulate that for the commercial growers, forcing every batch to be independently tested.]
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