S
socioecologist
Religious Incantation and the Power of Paper People
Religious Incantation and the Power of Paper People
Interesting read. Couple thoughts to share, though most of you probably already know this stuff:
(1) full legalization shouldn't produce significantly more demand. The few countries that have fully decriminalized cannabis (Netherlands, Portugal, et al.) did not experience a spike in use following legal changes and currently have lower use rates than the US. There is evidence of slightly higher rates of use in the current high school cohort in the US, but this is something that ebbs and flows over time--not enough of an increase or long enough duration to call it a trend yet.
(2) The Wal-Mart of pot would carry with it the same consequences as Wal-Mart. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that a new Wal-Mart in a town results in several new jobs created (20-50 on average), even after they drive all the smaller stores out of business; however, the jobs are lower paying and usually come with no benefits, which results in a net loss of income in the community. This makes more sense in the context of "local economic impact" generated by big-box stores vs. local businesses: for every $1 spent at a big-box store, $.36 stays in the community; the same $1 spent at a local store will return $.72 to the community.
(3) I know we're taught from an early age to worship the "free market" as if it were a deity (which makes sense considering that the invisible hand referenced by Adam Smith was, literally, the hand of god), but--brace yourselves!--there's no such thing. As sectors of an economy "mature," they become more oligopolic; the remaining firms are capable of squelching any real competition, hold significant political power (even more since the US legalized direct campaign contributions from corporations), are able to maintain prices higher than a competitive market, and can collude to smash unionization attempts--none of these are good for anyone who is not a shareholder. If/When cannabis is legalized, the same thing will occur. We are in the midst of watching this unfold already. The big players of tomorrow are already traded on the Dow and NASDAQ; those "big" warehouse growers that are chomping at the bit to produce 60 lbs. a day will be reduced to contract growers for the big biotech and pharma firms. It's no different than the recent domination of chicken and dairy farmers by Tyson and Dean Foods, respectively. And yes, there will always be some opportunities for higher quality niche markets; however, keep in mind that microbreweries (great example!) account for less than 10% of total beer sales in the US and that you're talking about multi-million dollar capital investments to get a tiny microbrewery going.
The big concern for those who care about the plant is the evolutionary trajectory about to be foisted upon it by our system of social organization--those who care already know what I mean. Save your seeds, keep selecting (kinder heads always prevail in my garden), and grow your own!
Religious Incantation and the Power of Paper People
Interesting read. Couple thoughts to share, though most of you probably already know this stuff:
(1) full legalization shouldn't produce significantly more demand. The few countries that have fully decriminalized cannabis (Netherlands, Portugal, et al.) did not experience a spike in use following legal changes and currently have lower use rates than the US. There is evidence of slightly higher rates of use in the current high school cohort in the US, but this is something that ebbs and flows over time--not enough of an increase or long enough duration to call it a trend yet.
(2) The Wal-Mart of pot would carry with it the same consequences as Wal-Mart. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that a new Wal-Mart in a town results in several new jobs created (20-50 on average), even after they drive all the smaller stores out of business; however, the jobs are lower paying and usually come with no benefits, which results in a net loss of income in the community. This makes more sense in the context of "local economic impact" generated by big-box stores vs. local businesses: for every $1 spent at a big-box store, $.36 stays in the community; the same $1 spent at a local store will return $.72 to the community.
(3) I know we're taught from an early age to worship the "free market" as if it were a deity (which makes sense considering that the invisible hand referenced by Adam Smith was, literally, the hand of god), but--brace yourselves!--there's no such thing. As sectors of an economy "mature," they become more oligopolic; the remaining firms are capable of squelching any real competition, hold significant political power (even more since the US legalized direct campaign contributions from corporations), are able to maintain prices higher than a competitive market, and can collude to smash unionization attempts--none of these are good for anyone who is not a shareholder. If/When cannabis is legalized, the same thing will occur. We are in the midst of watching this unfold already. The big players of tomorrow are already traded on the Dow and NASDAQ; those "big" warehouse growers that are chomping at the bit to produce 60 lbs. a day will be reduced to contract growers for the big biotech and pharma firms. It's no different than the recent domination of chicken and dairy farmers by Tyson and Dean Foods, respectively. And yes, there will always be some opportunities for higher quality niche markets; however, keep in mind that microbreweries (great example!) account for less than 10% of total beer sales in the US and that you're talking about multi-million dollar capital investments to get a tiny microbrewery going.
The big concern for those who care about the plant is the evolutionary trajectory about to be foisted upon it by our system of social organization--those who care already know what I mean. Save your seeds, keep selecting (kinder heads always prevail in my garden), and grow your own!
