SoCaliSmoker
Member
(Even if no one replies to this thread because it’s long, it may save someone’s life so READ it)
Although some of the wording I use may sound harsh, this could be a reality check for a lot of people. Considering how popular ICmag is, a lot of times if you’re on Google and you type something in that has to do with Marijuana, you mind find a thread from an ICmag member so I hope this reaches out to a lot of people and hits home for some.
I live in San Diego (I’m a native San Diegan) and I have a Medical card from the State. I grew marijuana when it was 100% illegal, and I still grow now that things are a “little” more legit. Although I may not be able to speak on EVERY part of California because I’m in the Southern part, I can give you a clear idea of what it’s like and what you’re getting yourself into out here.
For those of you who want to move here just to grow and take advantage of things, let’s go over a few topics and crunch some numbers together shall we?
Rent:
You have to live somewhere right? Well if you’re planning on growing where you live, you could live in your Grow house, but if you’re planning on renting a small place for you to live and having a separate grow house (for business) then you have one to two payments to consider. If you haven’t checked local market prices for homes (cause I hope you’re not trying to grow in a California apartment), you can see that 2-3 bedroom homes run you anywhere from $1,500 - $2,500 a month here. And I picked the lower end of San Diego to give you an example. If you wanted to rent a room, JUST RENT A ROOM from someone, you could easily pay $600.00 a month.
Factor in your expenses for rent, first months deposit, and you’re not going to get a check in 7 days, you have at least 8 weeks before you see money from your harvest. That is without vegging your plants, and walking STRAIGHT into a grow operation. So put 90 days of rent aside.
Utilities:
SDG & E (San Diego Gas and Electric) is not playing around. If you have bad credit, $500 deposit. If you’re going to do a big operation, you can easily pay $600 a month or MORE just for your utility bill, and that is if you are staying home like a hermit everyday. Pricing may vary depending on how big your operation is, but it’s a good guesstimate.
Factor in your utility bill for 90 days again since you don’t have a harvest yet.
Equipment:
Hydroponic stores don’t give out equipment for free. You need to have your list of equipment ready for purchase and I hope that you’re buying enough for a “somewhat” decent size commercial grow op if you’re planning on making money.
Factor in your costs for equipment.
Food and Gas:
You need to eat and you need to drive. You can chince here and there on the cost of eating, but Gas is not an option. $2.97 just for regular!! You need to have a budget for eating and for driving. Factor in the costs of food and gas.
Additional bills:
You have a cell phone, computer, internet, cable, (you’re not going to sleep on the floor) furniture for you house, insurance for car/health, and whatever else I’ve missed. From the total of everything we’ve named here, we’ve went over at least 11 things your going to pay for. 11 things that YOU HAVE NOT SEEN A DOLLAR FOR YET. And realistically, how much did you put aside anyway? Was it enough to cover everything you read, because in actuality, I might have even missed a few things!
Now let’s go over the fun stuff: You don’t know anyone here.
You didn’t think that California was just palm trees and bikinis did you? (you really didn’t did you?) You didn’t think that you were going to just MOVE OUT HERE and become a millionaire did you? Well let me be the first to tell you, it’s not all hippies who smoke weed and 90210 girls running around on the beach. YES, there are really gangsters like you see on TV out here. YES, you can get your ass killed out here. YES, someone will probably jack you if they know your growing weed. YES, someone will snitch on you out here.
NO - landlords don’t care if your Proposition 215 friendly, NO -a cannabis club does not want to hire you because you enjoy marijuana like they do (they don’t know you), NO – you cannot get $5,000 a pound for your weed, NO – you can not just grow anything and someone will buy it, and NO – no one wants to help you out unless there is something in it for them. But let that guy you trust get caught and he’ll be ‘singing like a bird’ telling the Feds anything they want to hear about you and how that person had nothing to do with nothing.
So let’s get down to the warm and fuzzy finale:
Brothers and Sisters. California is just a pipe-dream! There are so many other states that are medical marijuana friendly, and street friendly too. The pricing for everything is outrageous out here, too many people are trying to grow here and flooding the market with anything for a dollar because they believed in the pipe-dream, too many people are losing out on their harvests or holding onto their weed longer than expected from the Pro’s who know how to grow the Dank, and there are so many other options for you than giving up everything you have to make a move like this. There are so many other places that are medical marijuana friendly.
I know they say “No risk equals No reward”, but there is also another great saying, a saying that we all know to be true “A mind is a terrible thing to waste” and sometimes, we have to use that thing that we have inside of our head. Our brain. We can’t risk our very LIVES because things sound glamorous on the outside. You can really get killed or go to Jail out here and that is where the fairy tale ends. For 98% of the people who take a shot like that, it’s not “happily ever after”. I hope you heed these words and understand that we’re not trying to take a shot at YOU, you have other options.
Exercise them and be safe!
Although some of the wording I use may sound harsh, this could be a reality check for a lot of people. Considering how popular ICmag is, a lot of times if you’re on Google and you type something in that has to do with Marijuana, you mind find a thread from an ICmag member so I hope this reaches out to a lot of people and hits home for some.
I live in San Diego (I’m a native San Diegan) and I have a Medical card from the State. I grew marijuana when it was 100% illegal, and I still grow now that things are a “little” more legit. Although I may not be able to speak on EVERY part of California because I’m in the Southern part, I can give you a clear idea of what it’s like and what you’re getting yourself into out here.
For those of you who want to move here just to grow and take advantage of things, let’s go over a few topics and crunch some numbers together shall we?
Rent:
You have to live somewhere right? Well if you’re planning on growing where you live, you could live in your Grow house, but if you’re planning on renting a small place for you to live and having a separate grow house (for business) then you have one to two payments to consider. If you haven’t checked local market prices for homes (cause I hope you’re not trying to grow in a California apartment), you can see that 2-3 bedroom homes run you anywhere from $1,500 - $2,500 a month here. And I picked the lower end of San Diego to give you an example. If you wanted to rent a room, JUST RENT A ROOM from someone, you could easily pay $600.00 a month.
Factor in your expenses for rent, first months deposit, and you’re not going to get a check in 7 days, you have at least 8 weeks before you see money from your harvest. That is without vegging your plants, and walking STRAIGHT into a grow operation. So put 90 days of rent aside.
Utilities:
SDG & E (San Diego Gas and Electric) is not playing around. If you have bad credit, $500 deposit. If you’re going to do a big operation, you can easily pay $600 a month or MORE just for your utility bill, and that is if you are staying home like a hermit everyday. Pricing may vary depending on how big your operation is, but it’s a good guesstimate.
Factor in your utility bill for 90 days again since you don’t have a harvest yet.
Equipment:
Hydroponic stores don’t give out equipment for free. You need to have your list of equipment ready for purchase and I hope that you’re buying enough for a “somewhat” decent size commercial grow op if you’re planning on making money.
Factor in your costs for equipment.
Food and Gas:
You need to eat and you need to drive. You can chince here and there on the cost of eating, but Gas is not an option. $2.97 just for regular!! You need to have a budget for eating and for driving. Factor in the costs of food and gas.
Additional bills:
You have a cell phone, computer, internet, cable, (you’re not going to sleep on the floor) furniture for you house, insurance for car/health, and whatever else I’ve missed. From the total of everything we’ve named here, we’ve went over at least 11 things your going to pay for. 11 things that YOU HAVE NOT SEEN A DOLLAR FOR YET. And realistically, how much did you put aside anyway? Was it enough to cover everything you read, because in actuality, I might have even missed a few things!
Now let’s go over the fun stuff: You don’t know anyone here.
You didn’t think that California was just palm trees and bikinis did you? (you really didn’t did you?) You didn’t think that you were going to just MOVE OUT HERE and become a millionaire did you? Well let me be the first to tell you, it’s not all hippies who smoke weed and 90210 girls running around on the beach. YES, there are really gangsters like you see on TV out here. YES, you can get your ass killed out here. YES, someone will probably jack you if they know your growing weed. YES, someone will snitch on you out here.
NO - landlords don’t care if your Proposition 215 friendly, NO -a cannabis club does not want to hire you because you enjoy marijuana like they do (they don’t know you), NO – you cannot get $5,000 a pound for your weed, NO – you can not just grow anything and someone will buy it, and NO – no one wants to help you out unless there is something in it for them. But let that guy you trust get caught and he’ll be ‘singing like a bird’ telling the Feds anything they want to hear about you and how that person had nothing to do with nothing.
So let’s get down to the warm and fuzzy finale:
Brothers and Sisters. California is just a pipe-dream! There are so many other states that are medical marijuana friendly, and street friendly too. The pricing for everything is outrageous out here, too many people are trying to grow here and flooding the market with anything for a dollar because they believed in the pipe-dream, too many people are losing out on their harvests or holding onto their weed longer than expected from the Pro’s who know how to grow the Dank, and there are so many other options for you than giving up everything you have to make a move like this. There are so many other places that are medical marijuana friendly.
I know they say “No risk equals No reward”, but there is also another great saying, a saying that we all know to be true “A mind is a terrible thing to waste” and sometimes, we have to use that thing that we have inside of our head. Our brain. We can’t risk our very LIVES because things sound glamorous on the outside. You can really get killed or go to Jail out here and that is where the fairy tale ends. For 98% of the people who take a shot like that, it’s not “happily ever after”. I hope you heed these words and understand that we’re not trying to take a shot at YOU, you have other options.
Exercise them and be safe!
