Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

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Dlaw
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Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by Dlaw »

Hi, I live in a state in the U.S. which was among the first to legalize marijuana.

After years of the issue's being mired in silliness, I think it's now important.

I remember when it seemed like such an unlikely notion, and now it's an every day reality for us here.

Let me know if you're curious what it's like to live with it.
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LuckyR
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Re: Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by LuckyR »

I wonder how the illegal drug sellers are doing.
"As usual... it depends."
Dlaw
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Re: Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by Dlaw »

LuckyR wrote: January 16th, 2018, 4:03 am I wonder how the illegal drug sellers are doing.
It's unclear on what level the legal marijuana trade is hurting marijuana sellers.

Certainly the need for small-quantity dealers has dried up completely. However, news from Oregon is that as much or more illegal marijuana is grown there as before, plus the new legal marijuana.

Turns out people REALLY like marijuana. The lines at the stores are incredible.
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LuckyR
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Re: Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by LuckyR »

Dlaw wrote: January 16th, 2018, 2:47 pm
LuckyR wrote: January 16th, 2018, 4:03 am I wonder how the illegal drug sellers are doing.
It's unclear on what level the legal marijuana trade is hurting marijuana sellers.

Certainly the need for small-quantity dealers has dried up completely. However, news from Oregon is that as much or more illegal marijuana is grown there as before, plus the new legal marijuana.

Turns out people REALLY like marijuana. The lines at the stores are incredible.
Everyone already knew that. The news is that people really like avoiding running afoul of the law. Thus why they brave the lines and pay way, way more for legal product than what they used to pay for illegal product. Hence my question.
"As usual... it depends."
Dlaw
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Re: Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by Dlaw »

LuckyR wrote: January 16th, 2018, 4:54 pm The news is that people really like avoiding running afoul of the law. Thus why they brave the lines and pay way, way more for legal product than what they used to pay for illegal product. Hence my question.
Actually, they pay more AT FIRST for legal marijuana. Now legal marijuana in my state is significantly cheaper than legal marijuana used to be.

$11 for 3.5 grams of decent quality weed was the best price I got recently.

On top of that, the variety is fantastic and the quality one can get is just shocking. We're getting flower these days which tests at over 30% THC. Obviously you don't get that for $11.
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LuckyR
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Re: Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by LuckyR »

Dlaw wrote: January 16th, 2018, 5:10 pm
LuckyR wrote: January 16th, 2018, 4:54 pm The news is that people really like avoiding running afoul of the law. Thus why they brave the lines and pay way, way more for legal product than what they used to pay for illegal product. Hence my question.
Actually, they pay more AT FIRST for legal marijuana. Now legal marijuana in my state is significantly cheaper than legal marijuana used to be.

$11 for 3.5 grams of decent quality weed was the best price I got recently.

On top of that, the variety is fantastic and the quality one can get is just shocking. We're getting flower these days which tests at over 30% THC. Obviously you don't get that for $11.
Why the change in price? Was the first one too high, or the later one too low?
"As usual... it depends."
Dlaw
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Re: Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by Dlaw »

LuckyR wrote: January 17th, 2018, 1:25 am
Dlaw wrote: January 16th, 2018, 5:10 pm

Actually, they pay more AT FIRST for legal marijuana. Now legal marijuana in my state is significantly cheaper than legal marijuana used to be.

$11 for 3.5 grams of decent quality weed was the best price I got recently.

On top of that, the variety is fantastic and the quality one can get is just shocking. We're getting flower these days which tests at over 30% THC. Obviously you don't get that for $11.
Why the change in price? Was the first one too high, or the later one too low?
Exactly.

The inventory systems that go along with legal marijuana are a little tricky to comply with at first and the supply chain (run by stoners) is not ready for the sudden shock of demand. Growers and product manufacturers have trouble figuring out how much to invest because demand is so dynamic.

Illegal grow operations are limited in size mainly by concerns about theft and discovery by law enforcement (in that order).

It doesn't look like much weed is diverted from the legal supply in my state to the illegal supply in others, but with prices under $100 an ounce ($3.50 a gram) that may change. Mainly it seems that the illegal growers are still producing and sending their pot out of state, although, honestly, I'm not sure America grows nearly enough pot to satisfy our appetite, which is a little scary because we grow a lot of pot here.

Anecdotally, heavy pot users are kind of maxing out, but the consumption among occasional users has probably gone up between 200% and 800%. Middle-aged people like me were limited by the fact that we were just unwilling to buy marijuana illegally, except from friends.

A lot of people are using cannabis as a sleep aid - very effective.
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Scribbler60
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Re: Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by Scribbler60 »

I'm in Canada and we're in the process of making MJ legal. Legislation is expected to pass by July 2018.

Personally, it's not my thing; the scent of it turns my stomach.

The biggest issue here is with the tax structure and how it's going to be sold. Here in Ontario, it will be sold through government stores and taxed like crazy.

According to people who know about these things, one can buy some from a dealer at about $7.00 per gram. Government pricing will apparently be at $10.00 gram, with the Federal government taking the lion's share of tax revenue.

There will still be restrictions. One won't be allowed to smoke/vape it in a public place, and nobody under legal age will be allowed to purchase.

Frankly, the way it's being set up, I can't see legal MJ putting a dent in the black market. Legal weed is just going to be to expensive.
Dlaw
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Re: Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by Dlaw »

I can tell you for sure that it puts a dent in the LOCAL black market.

BC, however, will continue to produce the lovely BC Bud for everyone who lives in less-enlightened places.

What we call in the states the "state store" {"provincial store"? "government store"?) model is actually fine, because there will otherwise inevitably be crooked shop owners who supplement their income by dealing to the out-of-state black market. It makes it hard for honest stores to compete.

But overall, everybody who works in the industry - and the customers - are so supportive of the industry and completely willing to follow rules if it supports legalization.
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Scribbler60
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Re: Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by Scribbler60 »

Dlaw wrote: February 14th, 2018, 2:29 pmWhat we call in the states the "state store" {"provincial store"? "government store"?) model is actually fine...
I'm curious regarding the actual implementation of MJ legalization laws in the US.

From what I understand - and I'm willing to be corrected on this, since I don't know details - a state can decriminalize or legalize MJ, but using/selling it is still illegal under Federal law.

How does that shake out in practice? Will the local constabulary leave you alone but you still might be hounded by the FBI?
Dlaw
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Re: Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by Dlaw »

Scribbler60 wrote: February 14th, 2018, 2:53 pm
Dlaw wrote: February 14th, 2018, 2:29 pmWhat we call in the states the "state store" {"provincial store"? "government store"?) model is actually fine...
I'm curious regarding the actual implementation of MJ legalization laws in the US.

From what I understand - and I'm willing to be corrected on this, since I don't know details - a state can decriminalize or legalize MJ, but using/selling it is still illegal under Federal law.

How does that shake out in practice? Will the local constabulary leave you alone but you still might be hounded by the FBI?
Jeff Sessions, our present Attorney General, has not yet decided *how* exactly he will torture the MJ industry, but all manner of bad Federal things can happen to states and individuals.

Selling anything across state lines is Federal by definition, so obviously that's out. Although there are "retail level" federal crimes for simple possession, almost all "retail" MJ defendants are prosecuted in state and local courts. Because possession has long been solely a state matter, the states have decided that they have the right to redefine possession as legal. Sale is legal only insofar as it is directly tied to retail distribution with one central inventory system.
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Sy Borg
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Re: Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by Sy Borg »

In Australia there are plans to allow more desperately ill people buy it legally, but generally the government is more intent on control. Between (the former) US influence and increasing Chinese influence, I suspect Australia will adopt China's "total control" approach rather than consider what might make its citizens happy.

Given that most people will soon be chronically unemployed or underemployed due to technology, the government might do well to consider some kind of "Soma" to keep potentially bored citizens from becoming unruly. Pot is probably helpful in maintaining public order in that regard, much more so than any other drug aside from dangerous opioids.
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jerlands
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Re: Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by jerlands »

The reason the Feds don't leave this alone is financial. There's a huge industry pushing opioids, chemo, synthetic fabrics and GMO's all of which would suffer loss should it become nationally legalized. I think we should let dying industries do just that or find other niches to fill.
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." - Mark Twain
Dlaw
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Re: Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by Dlaw »

Greta wrote: February 14th, 2018, 9:13 pm In Australia there are plans to allow more desperately ill people buy it legally, but generally the government is more intent on control. Between (the former) US influence and increasing Chinese influence, I suspect Australia will adopt China's "total control" approach rather than consider what might make its citizens happy.

Given that most people will soon be chronically unemployed or underemployed due to technology, the government might do well to consider some kind of "Soma" to keep potentially bored citizens from becoming unruly. Pot is probably helpful in maintaining public order in that regard, much more so than any other drug aside from dangerous opioids.
Are you in Australia? If so, and you make less than $200,000 a year, find where they have the cheapest power prices in Oz, find yourself somebody who knows plants and start growing weed. The demand is essentially infinite relative to real cost of production.

Legalization is coming. When one actually has pot stores on the high street, it just makes sense. It's as natural as can be. It's - I dare say it - a civilized way to live.
Dlaw
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Re: Any Questions About Living With Legal Marijuana? Your Area Considering It?

Post by Dlaw »

Scribbler60 wrote: February 14th, 2018, 10:43 am I'm in Canada and we're in the process of making MJ legal. Legislation is expected to pass by July 2018.

Personally, it's not my thing; the scent of it turns my stomach.

The biggest issue here is with the tax structure and how it's going to be sold. Here in Ontario, it will be sold through government stores and taxed like crazy.

According to people who know about these things, one can buy some from a dealer at about $7.00 per gram. Government pricing will apparently be at $10.00 gram, with the Federal government taking the lion's share of tax revenue.

There will still be restrictions. One won't be allowed to smoke/vape it in a public place, and nobody under legal age will be allowed to purchase.

Frankly, the way it's being set up, I can't see legal MJ putting a dent in the black market. Legal weed is just going to be to expensive.
The other thing is you have no idea how much better legally-grown weed will be. At first, the legal marijuana was selling at around $20/gram - for good stuff, 20-some % Cannabinoids. It flew off the shelves. Now you're getting closer to 30% for that price and the old standard stuff is going for 6-10$/g.

Just a benchmark: supposedly in Laredo, TX, smuggled Mexican pot is kept at $1/g wholesale by the cartels. That probably goes for $15/g average retail for truly second-rate pot
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