CA Marijuana Legalization Initiative to Qualify for Ballot Today

[SicKSKills]

Zealous, that pic looks like the view from my back yard! unfortunately im not so sure the wine industry is the answer we are looking for, IF this bills is to pass... it seems like a good idea until you realize the fact that this bill calls for sales and cultivation sites to be separate entities from each other as well as no consumption allowed on site of either premise. basically youre only left to consume at home, which kinda defeats the purpose of 'wine' tasting to revert into product sales, including wholesalers...

 

[Neo 420]

IF this bills is to pass... it seems like a good idea until you realize the fact that this bill calls for sales and cultivation sites to be separate entities from each other as well as no consumption allowed on site of either premise. basically youre only left to consume at home, which kinda defeats the purpose of 'wine' tasting to revert into product sales, including wholesalers...

As well as a license for distribution.

As shown in the Medicinal MJ distribution model, no tasting needed.

 

[SickBoyZap]

Am I the only one that is afraid of it being legalized? The small Mom and Pop growers are going to be put out of business! This shit is going to be everywhere! Good luck keeping AgriCorps out of the business. The small legal home grower will be devastated by the PLUMMETING PRICES on the market! How many moonshiners are left today after Alcohol was legalized? 99.9% of all Alcohol is produced now by Anheuser Busch, Smirnoff, etc., etc., etc.

Read articles from the 20's & 30's. Moonshiners claimed they weren't worried about Alcohol being legalized, they claimed that their product was "too good" to be produced on a mass production scale! Where are they today? Ancient Chinese proverb: "Beware of what you dream....for dreams sometimes come true!"


Look what happened to the small farmers in the midwest. Remember the old Rockwell paintings of the Yeoman farmer with his wife and 'PitchFork'? They're all but gone. Corporate AgriBiz has made them obsolete. Tell me this is not just the begining of a Corporate takeover of the industry. Phillip Morris and other tobacco giants are pushing for this! WHY?


Drive the prices so low that the only person who can make a profit and be more competitive, have higher productivity and can produce product cheaper is the massive Agri-industry. For many 'THIS IS NOT A BUSINESS...IT'S A WAY OF LIFE'!


A 'Bushy old Grower' who has dedicated his life to learning and perfecting his art is going to go the way of the 1920's Alcohol "Moonshiner"- just a memory.


PRICES ARE GONNA GO THROUGH THE FLOOR! I know people who make a 'legal' living off of supplying patients. They better get their McDonalds applications filled out!


The 'Art'' and the 'Culture' of Marijuana is going to be nothing more than a trip to the liquor store...the same as buying a 6 pack of beer...sad.


I say keep our current Medical laws!


P.S. I GUARANTEE YOU! YOU WILL LOOK BACK FONDLY ON WHAT WAS......WHAT YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW!

 

[LovableHuggable]

Your post is why it must stay illegal on the federal level while legal on the state level. MMJ ONLY!

 

[vta]

Am I the only one that is afraid of it being legalized? The small Mom and Pop growers are going to be put out of business! This shit is going to be everywhere! Good luck keeping AgriCorps out of the business. The small legal home grower will be devastated by the PLUMMETING PRICES on the market! How many moonshiners are left today after Alcohol was legalized? 99.9% of all Alcohol is produced now by Anheuser Busch, Smirnoff, etc., etc., etc. Read articles from the 20's, Moonshiners claimed they weren't worried about Alcohol being legalized, they claimed that their product was "too good" to be produced on a mass production scale! Where are they today? Ancient Chinese proverb: "Beware of what you dream....for dreams sometimes come true!"


Look what happened to the small farmers in the midwest. Remember the old Rockwell paintings of the Yeoman farmer? They're all but gone. Corporate AgriBiz has made them obsolete. Tell me this is not just the begining of a Corporate takeover of the industry. Phillip Morris and other tobacco giants are pushimg for this! WHY?


Drive the prices so low that the only person who can make a profit and be more competitive, have higher productivity and can produce product cheaper is the massive Agri-industry. For many 'THIS IS NOT A BUSINESS...IT'S A WAY OF LIFE'!


A 'Bushy old Grower' who has dedicated his life to learning and perfecting his art is going to go the way of the 1920's Alcohol "Moonshiner"- just a memory.


PRICES ARE GONNA GO THROUGH THE FLOOR! I know people who make a 'legal' living off of supplying patients. They better get their McDonalds applications filled out!


The 'Art'' and the 'Culture' of Marijuana is going to be nothing more than a trip to the liquor store...the same as buying a 6 pack of beer...sad.


I say keep our current Medical laws!


P.S. I GUARANTEE YOU! YOU WILL LOOK BACK FONDLY ON WHAT WAS......WHAT YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW!

I look at it like this:
800,000 people a year get arrested for mere possession of cannabis in the US....isn't it time for that to change? If you say yes, then realize we are a capitalistic country and corporations will enter the market place. That's reality. Don't worry about mom and pop, if their product is good, they will stay in business. I know someone who came up with a killer homemade bbq sauce about 5 years ago...it is now carried in 3 super market chains and he is seeing some serious cash.

 

[Neo 420]

The price for MJ will not go threw the roof if legalized.

I say this because there will still be overhead, employee's, cost of product (which factors in growth, equipment and time) and the biggest on of them all. TAXES

One of the main reasons to legalize it is for the taxes. You think the MJ stores and distributors are going to eat the taxes? HELL NAW. It will be passed down to the consumer. How low do you think a OZ of mid/low high grade will cost? You have to factor in all of the cost associated and the possible gains. I believe with some of the tax models floating around, the price may be driven up even higher. Remember that MJ license you have to pay for (sales, distributor, cultivator)? Well that ain't gonna be cheap. It maybe in upwards of 50,000. Renewals fees, inspections by the state/local , security, and the lists go on and on. This ain't tobacco, so don't even bother applying that model to this. Not in the same realm of environmental, harvesting or interest. How many tobacco growers you know?
Further more I believe a lot of the growers/cultivators/ breeders will be picked by Big Business. Why go against when they can buy off the insanely knowledgeable skilled resources? I rather have the guy that has worked with his strains over ten years and can tell you when the plants hiccup versus some botanist who has been working with dandelions and crab grass.

The biggest losers will be the MMJ clubs unless they convert to the "over 21" model. To vote no on this bill will put us backwards. This chance may not come around for a long time. Meg Whitman get in office, you can call it a wrap. Lets do this now and fix "issues" later.
My 2 cents....

 

[SickBoyZap]

First of all I would like to preface this by saying thank God, this discussion is civil. I think none of us knows for sure what WILL happen, and I appreciate and respect all your opinions.

That being said. I think the BBQ sauce analogy is a 'RARE' circumstance. If all who make a living right now supplying their medical product think they are going to be the exception I think they are being overly optimistic. It reminds me of my 10 year old son who is taking electric guitar lessons, (product of damn 'guitar Hero') he firmly believes he will make it big!

Even though I would never shatter his dreams, somehow I believe he should get a great education because he'll have better odds trying to win the lottery!

Like I said in my previous comment "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 'MOONSHINERS' OF THE 20's & 30'S? Yes there are some rare cicumstances where they made a transition to the large corp., but probably 99.9% percent had to leave their profession, some of these people's families had passed down their art for generations! Some were driven to suicide!

And don't tell me that you saw some history channel show where people stiil run stills in the Ozarks. What kind of life do they lead? Far be it from the days of profit for the little man. Prohibition was one of the only ways out of the generational poverty in Appalachia.

The money merely shifted from the common man to 'Seagrams', Baccardi, Jim Beam, etc., etc.

What's even more preverted is the fact that these companies try to claim the heritage of the old Moonshiner and Rum Runner. Check out some of their bottles and packaging.

The last insult...sad.

 

[igrowone]

First of all I would like to preface this by saying thank God, this discussion is civil. I think none of us knows for sure what WILL happen, and I appreciate and respect all your opinions.

i like this theme, and in particular on the 'happening' part
imho, it almost doesn't really matter what is in a legalization bill, however modest that it is
there will be huge legal fights for years, you may have noticed that latest deal with MMJ and zoning laws?
any legalization is going to be fought tooth and nail by the anti-MJ crowd
they're not just going to fade away, not for a while anyways
it's just another step forward, not the last step

 

[Hammerhead]

I would prefer mom and pop go out of business then see ANY more people being prosecuted for cannabis. Like said if mom and pop can produce top shelf smoke there not going anywhere and wont have any problems getting rid of it.

 

[Neo 420]

Do you think the black market is going dry up? I am in agreement with a portion of people supplying product will go belly up but not 99%. The MJ model is changing like it or not and new opportunities will arise. Either find your niche or get pushed out. I'm just being blunt for all the soldiers past and presently locked up. Change is coming. If the price to pay for no more unsubstantiated jail time for MJ is a MJ corp ruled USA, than shall be it!!. I will be fine with it, still growing my own cause I love the art of growing just as well as smoking.

I used to be in IT. When my market started to over flood with new IT, boom the recession hit, I lost my job. I could not find a job due to the deep overflow of talent that existed. You wanna know what I did? Changed careers. That, unfortunately will be the fate for some in the "MJ" profession.

SickBoyZap: I agree with being civil. Yea I know what ya mean. I have seen some threads go to pieces in a matter of pages.

 

[SickBoyZap]

BUT NEITHER HAS TO BE THE CASE! NOBODY NEEDS TO GO TO JAIL! JUST KEEP IT THE WAY IT IS! 1,000's of people a week are getting their licenses!

You don't know how good everybody has it right now!

 

[SickBoyZap]

@ Neo 420

"change is coming" ? CHANGE IS HERE! Allow more people to get their licenses and NOT A SINGLE 'SOLDIER' EVER HAS TO BE LOCKED UP AGAIN!

How many people have found their 'niche' in the homegrown Alcohol industry?

I respect you, because I have always been with the crowd to 'completely legalize',
But if you think of our nation following California's model 'coast to coast' EVERYBODY WINS!

Sure there are some rougue Yahoo countys that haven't adjusted yet but their time is up! We haven't even given this much of a chance.

 

[Neo 420]

BUT NEITHER HAS TO BE THE CASE! NOBODY NEEDS TO GO TO JAIL! JUST KEEP IT THE WAY IT IS! 1,000's of people a week are getting their licenses!

You don't know how good everybody has it right now!

Negative. The way it is now, people are still go going to jail for it. Getting your license is getter harder due to tightening the prescribing DR's accountability role here in the bay. Every year I get more flack. Just this March when I renewed mine, I was told bring updated proof next year or fax it in whenever I see my reg Dr.
I had a buddy who given a three month prescription. He had to bring back updated medical records from his normal Dr to receive his full year prescription. This guy has had his card for 5 or 6 years. He broke his back working on one of the bridges and I know this guy still endures chronic pain.

The days of "My elbow hurt. I want a MMJ card" is gonna be over real quick. This will only be a factor if this law does not get passed.

 

[SickBoyZap]

But that's anecdotal. I can tell you stories of doctors in L.A. who give licenses still to anybody! We could go back and forth with 'horror stories' and 'stories of positive change'. We need to let it reach an equalibrium. In L.A. the sheriff has been instructed to not arrest or even cite for possession of up to an ounce WITHOUT A LICENSE!

 

[SickBoyZap]

Got to go to work. I thank you all for the spirited discussion. And I earnestly hope that who ever is correct wins at the polls.

Peace my brothers.

 

[Hammerhead]

I had to bring in my Medical records to get my card. I also had a card in Oregon and you can not get a card there without your primary doctor's approval. They had to fill out the paperwork.

 

[SickBoyZap]

Not to be a smart ass but, being irritated with paperwork is not enough reason to give away our market to Phillip Morris and the Tobacco industry.

Californians consume between $870 million and $ 2 billion worth of medical marijuana per year! THIS MONEY GOES THROUGH THE SMALL GROWER RIGHT NOW!

THE HOME GROWER HAS NEVER, NOR WILL EVER, HAVE IT SO GOOD!

If it is further legalized by this Corporate, Tobacco indusry bill It's all over. As I said before, I know people who make an honest "Legal" living off of this industry! Why should we growers give it all away to Corporate America?

IT IS ALREADY "LEGAL"! This is just a way to cut out the small man!

Also as I said before, YOU ARE GOING TO LOOK BACK AT THESE TIMES WITH FONDNESS AND REALIZE THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW GOOD WE HAD IT!

We need to work to improve what we have!

I say keep the current Medical laws and work to spread our model across the nation!

 

[Hammerhead]

I think our point was that getting a card will not be as easy as it has been in the past. This bill has nothing to do with prop 215. This bill is only for rec users. If it passes or not will have no effect on prop 215. Im not thinking about how good we have it. Im thinking about all my brothers and sisters that are incarcerated and those that will be for using cannabis. These big company's wont even touch it until the law is changed federally it will be a long time before we see this happen. This is a starting point for legalization. There's no way everyone is going to be happy with any bill. Get it legalized and fix the problems later.

 

[Thundurkel]

Not to be a smart ass but, being irritated with paperwork is not enough reason to give away our market to Phillip Morris and the Tobacco industry.

I know people who make an honest "Legal" living off of this industry! Why should we growers give it all away to corporate America.

IT IS ALREADY "LEGAL"! This is just away to cut out the small man!


We need to work to improve what we have!

I say keep the current Medical laws and work to spread our model across the nation!

I TOTALLY agree with the above I hella don't want it to go legal it would ruin everything I've worked for over the last two years just to make a small amount of money legally and have my meds at all times just so lazy fuckers can go to the liquor store and buy joints like a pack of smokes? FUCK THAT!

 

[basspirate]

You folks would keep innocent people in jail for your paychecks? Give me a break. Forget the industry, forget the product, forget the high...people's lives are being wasted away because of a plant. How does that work into your business model?