How legitimate is moving to CA and growing to support yourself

[Bettysmith]

I'm fairly certain I've seen these threads on here before, so I'll apologize upfront about making a new thread in regards to this (tried searching, but couldn't find much).

Assuming one has knowledge of cultivating, and all the required tools (both mental and tangible), how legitimate of an idea is it to move from your home state to CA (or anywhere else that's cannabis friendly) and be able to support yourself through the cultivation of our beloved plant? I understand that dispensaries will purchase your crop if it's up to par, but how does this work? I recall reading this is an illegal act. (Selling crops to dispensaries) How much does a dispensary pay for a crop, and how do you go about supplying them? On that note also, are there any alternatives (Legal, ideally) to this which involve cultivating and selling the crop? I'd really like to just be able to support myself through growing, while keeping it legal, but this seems like it could be quite a stretch.

I realize there could, and more likely than not would be, a large work load to make it successfully in a business such as this, but how legitimate of an idea is this? Also, if anyone currently sells crops to dispensaries (Which I'm sure many on here do), would you mind giving some information on the process, your selling price, and how it all got started for you? The more numbers the better. Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[nvthis]

It's a perfectly good idea. Nothing wrong with it at all. Until November.

 

[Panoramical]

I'm in the UK, so this doesn't affect me, but I wish I had an excuse to live in Ca.

It's a perfectly good idea. Nothing wrong with it at all. Until November.

Why November?

 

[ibjamming]

It MAY become legal...so EVERYONE will grow their own and the market will collapse...except for export to other states not as liberal.

 

[Bettysmith]

I doubt the market will collapse if and when it becomes legal. People still go to the store to buy cigarettes and alcohol.

Anyone have input on the OP though?

 

[InvisibleEmpire]

Sigh...this question again...lol

I do not live in CA but common sense and a few other things have taught me a bit about the whole 'moving to a weed friendly state and selling for a living, legal or black market' idea...

The cost of living is EXTREMELY high in Cali. Rent, food, electricity...fuckin' everything is expensive out there. Keep that in mind...you better have a few stacks ready to just drop and forget about to get on your feet and have a few more thousand to keep yourself going until your grow (at LEAST 3 months away) is ready to provide you with funds.

Also keep in mind the market is flooded in CA, weed is everywhere and unless you make a base of clients who just so happen to need weed all the time, you'll be forced to find clients and that's not the best idea and can get you popped regardless of how severe the laws are or not (depends on the area)

Come November, if legalization occurs forget about it unless you have a ton of funding already or if you already have a support base built there (clients, patients, etc.)

I'd suggest against CA, look into other states like Colorado, Oregon, etc. Any state with medical is a good idea as most of those states weed laws are much more lax compared to non-med states, but again keep in mind with medical legal, the weed market is normally flooded - good weed for cheap, everywhere.

I thought about it for about a day, then laughed and realized it's much more profitable to take the risk in a non-med state and make twice the amount of money.

Going rate for commercial heads (dro, chronic, kind...normally commercial indoor, sometimes compressed and a name slapped on it for sales reasons) is 300-400/oz in most states, depending on who you know. I've heard it's less in some places (200 an ounce) but I question quality at that point.

Bluelight clues you in a few things. There are a few places in which people are trying to pass purple or red-hued buds off as "purple haze" and other strains for 80-100 an 8th. At full rate thats 600-1000 an ounce. AN OUNCE. Most smokers are at least intelligent enough to not drop that much on weed, or can even afford that, but i've had no trouble selling 300 dollar halves when i had product to sell. 500 a zip here is a deal if you can throw some fat, crystally buds on the table.

Let's just put it this way...

I did the math...and with my upcoming setup I will have a 400watter strictly for personal and 2,000 for commercial. At my average of .5-.6g/watt (if not more) I can assume 2.2+ pounds every 3-4 months with a continual cycle of grow/chop/dry/jar/replant. Electricity isn't TOO expensive where I am, and I can safely assume maybe, at most (such as peak times when i have 2,400w going) $200/month in electric, but probably less. That's 450-600 in electric, factor in $150 for soil+shipping+nutes, and you can round out to 800 bucks to run the show.

at 500/zip, i will not be discounting for larger purchases so i can safely assume 15k for 2lbs...not counting the additional .2lb or residual from my 400watt grow...of which either can cover the 800 i spent running the show. 15k every 4 months (minimal)...45k. For me, that is perfectly fine. I was making 28k at my last job for the last 3 years...that's double what i was making and i get to do whatever the fuck i want all year, while smoking the chronic.

PS, if in fact i can keep a strict schedule and run 8 or 9 week strains and setup a separate drying area, i can probably fit in 4 grows a year rather than 3. 4-6 weeks from seed to flower, and 8-9 weeks flower, so at most thats 15 weeks per cycle, 105 days...365 days in a year, 3.4 cycles/year...so i figure i can complete 4 cycles in just over a year. at minimum of 2lbs a cycle, thats 8 lbs x 7-8k a pound...i wouldn't put it past making 50-100k a year minus a few thousand for soil, nutes, electricity, gas driving here and there, etc.

I pray to the LORD I can pull off such a setup. I'm tired of working for someone else and being an economic slave. I hope you can see the benefit in this and setup a good grow setup and pull off something similar!

non-med state FTW!

 

[Budweiser13]

Good luck its already super competitive out here. Just the medical side has fucked up the prices and you can still get busted by the feds. It aint worth it and you will probably not make a living unless you can put out some serious pounds per month. Oh and fuck prop19 hope it doesnt pass.....

 

[krunchbubble]

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=189987

 

[Lazyman]

Just realize you're probably the 5-millionth person to think of this, so there's a long line ahead of you.

As a side note, if 19 passes in the state, the Feds won't allow it to fly, California will be sued instantly and the measure blocked in court. States cannot supersede Federal law.

 

[Budweiser13]

exactly what those 2 guys just said. Its becoming more of a joke out here every day. Hell I been thinking of moving the fuck out of california because I am sick of it. I got my med card walked right in paid a buck fifty and had recommendation hell I dont even have any medical issues. And yes most clubs have shit weed and they still ask blackmarket prices the shit is fucked man. Good luck with whatever you decide to do....

 

[Lazyman]

You also have to do the math based on the crazy prices out here, I pay over $3k in rent, a total of $4300 a month in power, $500 in food and $500 in gas every month. Add to that credit cards, cable, internet, phone bills, insurance, nutes, grow supplies, repairs, packaging, and a couple dozen other things, living out here is STUPID expensive. I basically was not making enough money on an 8-light grow to survive, as I had no veg room and only got paid every 3 months. When I had shitty harvests I was practically in tears, and flat-ass broke! There is no margin for error out here, I have a good full-time job, and that's the only reason I'm not homeless today.

 

[Hemphrey Bogart]

As a side note, if 19 passes in the state, the Feds won't allow it to fly, California will be sued instantly and the measure blocked in court. States cannot supersede Federal law.

Just curious, so don't get offended...

Are you a lawyer that specializes in state's rights issues or constitutional law? Only reason I mention it is that back when 215 was passed, a few people who didn't want 215 to pass were saying the same exact thing.

To the OP, it's a bad idea, imho. If you want to come here for other reasons AND get your grow on, then go for it. People are struggling and prices are falling left and right. Haven't seen it at the dispensary/retail level yet, but it's coming. There's just way too much supply right now. Indoor AND outdoor crops are starting to come in. I'm predicting prices to fall drastically this year, prop 19 or not. I really noticed the trend last fall and I'm assuming it's going to only keep sliding downward (supply exceeding demand).

The good news, if you want to call it that, is there seems to be more dispensaries opening up in North and Central California. Some could be the dispos running from LA and SD crackdowns? Not sure.

HB.

 

[kmk420kali]

As a side note, if 19 passes in the state, the Feds won't allow it to fly, California will be sued instantly and the measure blocked in court. States cannot supersede Federal law.

Then why did that not work with 215??
Arizona was another issue-- The Constitution gives all things Immigration related to the Feds...Arizona tried to make their own State Laws...not the same--

 

[HomerSimpson]

Just realize you're probably the 5-millionth person to think of this, so there's a long line ahead of you.

As a side note, if 19 passes in the state, the Feds won't allow it to fly, California will be sued instantly and the measure blocked in court. States cannot supersede Federal law.

I think you should read the Bill of Rights my friend. You can even skip to numbers nine and ten.

Amendment #9
"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

Amendment #10
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."


Basically any rights anything not specifically in the Constitution are the rights of the people. James Madison had 42 human rights. This is our catch all. Amendment ten is the same idea, but addresses the states rights. But then again even it yields any extra rights to the people.

Last time I read the Constitution in no way limited the rights of what plant a man could grow. Therefor Prop 19 is the citizens of California lending their right to the State of California.

 

[The Phoenix]

You also have to do the math based on the crazy prices out here, I pay over $3k in rent, a total of $4300 a month in power, $500 in food and $500 in gas every month. Add to that credit cards, cable, internet, phone bills, insurance, nutes, grow supplies, repairs, packaging, and a couple dozen other things, living out here is STUPID expensive. I basically was not making enough money on an 8-light grow to survive, as I had no veg room and only got paid every 3 months. When I had shitty harvests I was practically in tears, and flat-ass broke! There is no margin for error out here, I have a good full-time job, and that's the only reason I'm not homeless today.

Sadly, Lazyman paints a realistic picture of the situation.

If your female, and have the proper talents, and startup capitol, you can make it because of what I call the attraction factor. But you must be a really talented grower.

 

[HomerSimpson]

Oregon sucks market is crashing already. By next year we could be at 1500/pound.

 

[Lazyman]

No I'm not a constitutional lawyer, but judging from this article it's exactly what is expected to happen: From http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20016126-503544.html

As California voters gear up for a November 2 vote on Proposition 19, a ballot measure that would legalize the growth, possession and distribution of marijuana, nine former administrators of the Drug Enforcement Administration have issued a preemptive call to the White House: If Prop 19 passes, they say, President Obama should sue.

The Associated Press reports that in an August 24 letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the former DEA officials wrote that the potential legalization of marijuana would challenge federal authority and merit a lawsuit against the state - much like the one Mr. Obama has filed in protest of Arizona's controversial immigration law, which the administration say contradicts national policy.

"We would expect the Department of Justice to act just as swiftly and for the same reason," the DEA administrators said of the potential passage of Proposition 19.

The upcoming vote has incited heated national debate on the issue of cannabis legalization, and Californians once again find themselves in a position to set national precedent with a controversial ballot measure. If passed, Californians 21 and older would be the first Americans with the legal right to use marijuana recreationally.

Proponents of the measure argue that legalizing pot would allow for increased regulation of it, and that taxing the drug could bring much-needed revenue to the state. But Gil Kerlikowske, Obama's drug czar, argued in an op-ed to the Los Angeles Times that while it would be "impossible to predict precisely the consequences of wholesale legalization," he could say "with near certainty" that marijuana use would increase with the passage of Prop 19 - and so would the social costs associated with drug use.

But whether or not the Obama administration would be willing to intervene in the matter is unclear. The Justice Department has not issued a statement in response to the letter, and unlike with the case of immigration, the president has not made the legalization of marijuana a central focus of his political agenda.

 

[kmk420kali]

...
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=190079

 

[The Phoenix]

that marijuana use would increase with the passage of Prop 19 - and so would the social costs associated with drug use.

The opponents talk about the social costs. This might be true in some cases, but the majority of the "social issues" have to do with the fact that the product is illegal right now, and the users have to run around like a bunch of criminals. The current laws make users less free to fit in to society when their pocket books or freedom is at stake.

And this coming from hypocrite law makers who find no trouble drinking alcohol.

Anyway Betty, you might want to wait till after the first of the year to see how this new law will pan out.

 

[ibjamming]

Just realize you're probably the 5-millionth person to think of this, so there's a long line ahead of you.

As a side note, if 19 passes in the state, the Feds won't allow it to fly, California will be sued instantly and the measure blocked in court. States cannot supersede Federal law.

Then why did that not work with 215??
Arizona was another issue-- The Constitution gives all things Immigration related to the Feds...Arizona tried to make their own State Laws...not the same--

I think you should read the Bill of Rights my friend. You can even skip to numbers nine and ten.

Amendment #9
"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

Amendment #10
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."


Basically any rights anything not specifically in the Constitution are the rights of the people. James Madison had 42 human rights. This is our catch all. Amendment ten is the same idea, but addresses the states rights. But then again even it yields any extra rights to the people.

Last time I read the Constitution in no way limited the rights of what plant a man could grow. Therefor Prop 19 is the citizens of California lending their right to the State of California.

Thank you Homer...you said it well.

Really? WTF are the feds going to do? Raid every house in CA? The feds can't MAKE a state do or not do anything except by threat of withholding funds. I believe CA is a net exporter of money to the feds. I'd like to see them try. Civil War II? I'm in...we need some changes...

Like government doesn't have a right to tell me what I can and can't possess. That's why I always mention the Supreme Court...it's GOT to get there. It's a fundamental right...the right of a man to self determine, make their own decisions. It hurts no one!

The opponents talk about the social costs. This might be true in some cases, but the majority of the "social issues" have to do with the fact that the product is illegal right now, and the users have to run around like a bunch of criminals. The current laws make users less free to fit in to society when their pocket books or freedom is at stake.

And this coming from hypocrite law makers who find no trouble drinking alcohol.

Anyway Betty, you might want to wait till after the first of the year to see how this new law will pan out.

If the people against it would just stop listening to the lies and try it themselves...we'd have converts.

Like the others said...come if you have another reason, not just to grow.