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MA Recreational Sales Begin Tuesday 11/20

Smokey Pockets

Active member
Yes!!!
My wife just sent me link to this . This is great news, I live about 3 minutes from the Cultivate location, matter of fact it’s my 11 year old daughters bus stop....
Not even kidding, it’s hilarious to me, “ why does it smell skunky here daddy? “ Hahahaha Hahahaha!!
anyway I will be there Tuesday
 

Mengsk

Active member
The rec market has taken away all of the money from people who worked and risked their lives for little and been labeled as criminals. While any person with an ID can walk in and buy pot, the business and real estate deals with years of planning are specifically designed to exclude the home producer or hobbyist. The middle person has now become the regulators and all associated parties to maintain the criminal street price at the point of sale. I'll try to stay on topic but this is knocking on my front door, somewhat figuratively and literally. Absence of evidence or whatever it's called. There is no way people are willfully unaware of exactly what they are doing.

I have an uneasy feeling about real estate or financial deals with business minded and investor people speaking inflated values. For example "grower 1" hands "regulator 1" or "distributor 1" a proposal for a greenhouse and says it'll cost millions of dollars. Any financial party involved, or even worse a pooled group of investors, is working as a group to displace everyone in that area at least in the most direct sense of their deemed competition. Why does the best and cheapest product have to be a competition? That is a good question. Without any personal assessment or attack or mudslinging, that is without getting into how good of a grower someone is. That is actually besides the point. Because the business deal relies on the massive scale and all the petroleum inputs. If you handed that same proposal to a sustainable farmer it would look like a joke. Maybe not all here would consider themselves environmentalists but intensive indoor growing is about the fastest way to burn up the planet (global warming, toxic runoff for fish/birds/humans). And also carries an exorbitant price tag, as if they go hand in hand or need one another. And it also means like I feel the bigger the cannabis industry entity the more they want me (as in personally, myself, I) gone or out of the way. This is not a good feeling to have that the job market is lacking or unappealing and pot shops are only opening at five to ten times "black market" cost.

That act of signing the large financial deal alone is enough to disrupt an entire market/community. Because there is no fair real world comparison of what that product actually costs compared to zero regulation whatsoever. Yes it employs people if you hire ten workers to walk under hps lights all day and grow hydro. But consider this. How about asking each one of those employees to grow 4 Dankwolf style plants each and bring them in? Ok are you ready for this, hire a team of people now to do the math and analyze the carbon footprint for each of those two scenarios. The negative environmental impact. And the quality of life for the people involved or the "employees." Then compare the costs pound for pound and the quality. When you add up all of the lab testing companies, you now have another significant fraction of money that is going to employing entry level technicians - this would be the job or political argument. In reality however the money is still going to the same investors while people sit under lights picking away at milligrams of herb day after day month after month. I am not paying for 10-15 additional people making as much per hour in the supply chain. That seems to be the model in place. Now there is a whole market generated on finance and it is supposed to be held up by the idea that 1g of freeze dried costs $25 delivered. If people could cooperate and work together (grower/trimmer/processor/distributor) sharing duties or rotate that would work better than the mega grows in my opinion.

I have a personal vested interest in the place I live and the laws have moved too far away from what is or should be considered legal or moral or just in my view. As in, were I to try and speak like a lawyer, this bill is the footnote that is thrown in with a bunch of other laws designed to oppress divide and keep the majority poor in life as usual. There is a fundamental difference between the value associated with someone on a piece of paper and their value as a person whether it is work or production or contribution effort labor and so on. To reconcile this next wave of finance is difficult/unacceptable/murky legally morally ethically and practically speaking day to day.

What I mean in simple terms is no you cannot get a job as a budtender because there are only so many of those. And no you can't share or sell your product because the only legal option is this imported overpriced processed packaged freeze dried stuff. You may be able to get a job as a delivery driver for this product, but there are only so many of those too. They may start selling licenses, at some time, but those were already sold to one or two people years ago before anyone heard anything about it. Meaning that it is legal to order delivery at $100 an eighth or whatever. But any farmer market individual producing flower is looking at a conspiracy of regulators, out of state distributors and a network that seems to involve politicians rather than consumers or everyday people. This is like the 100% opposite of a farmer's market which IMO is shaping up for a disaster.

If an unknown number of middle parties values land next to your home at a million or a billion dollars and those same parties all deny you any employment in the greater surrounding area, except for $12/hr delivery jobs, what effect does that have on the economy and better yet society or people or quality of life? With the large corporate ops and distributors or shell companies setting up, is that the new warehouse and big box store? So $10k/year for a license and those mostly all go to huge investors in other words not one per person. Which means that everyone as in everyone else, growers, people, $10k/yr at minimum for the little sticker or else you aren't allowed to possess or grow or share more than a certain amt or distribute at all without fines penalties prison time etc. Right there is a big difference, socially and economically, from imprisoning someone, locking them up and not. Now there is a big difference again from advertising a corporation, commercials marketing storefronts developments, and censoring or deleting accounts or only having paid ads. Net effect is a bait and switch, no change, with a minor consolation prize of not being fined and jailed for smoking pot. This has big ag and food and pharma and banking with politicians which means military written all over it (like the 3+ largest multi-national corporations). I have an ag degree and recently discovered medicine is bogus largely speaking so it is personal (if weed was and is bad, line of thinking -> house of cards effect pretty much). You can't invest millions (valued at billions) in someone's backyard and expect the domino effect to displace everyone around. It isn't so much about money at that point.

2c cheers for no more getting arrested
good.gif
 
Last edited:

yardgrazer

Active member
WBUR said an ounce of flower could cost over $400. Fucking highway robbery.

When I looked last week on Weedfinder or whatever it's called, NETA (Noho) had ounces for $300, then you throw in the 20% tax, $360 (even if they add MA sales tax on top of that, it's only up to 370).

It's not a spectacular price, but it's not immensely above what I've been paying for decent kb (350). I'd be more interested if they'd do mixed ounces for 300.

As for Mengsk's comment, longterm unfortunately you're probably right... once a sufficient # of dispensaries and regulated suppliers are fully up and running, and prices come down, it's going to decimate the "illegal" market.

Until then... in my experience in MA, and maybe this isn't true for everyone, most people need to know someone to make good herb connections. I suspect a fair number of people will continue to buy through those channels until they can't justify paying more than they would at a dispensary.

In the beginning I imagine dispensaries will be full of people without reliable connections (I have to admit I am psyched to be able to go some place with reliable business hours, my schedule is such a PITA these days).
 

yardgrazer

Active member
PS: But I do have to add, when the dispensaries take over I'm gonna be sad. I've enjoyed visiting (most) dealers over the years, once you have a good rapport built up with them.
 

Americangrower

Active member
Veteran
I haven't bought weed since the early 90's but it would be nice to go in Hope Heal Health in da river to sample some cuts to see if they are worth growing.
 
S

Sertaiz

fucking crazy and sad. i visited seattle a few years ago and saw legal pot. too expensive for me and so i bought on the street, had crack put in my hand twice instead of bud. instead if bouncers at bars being able to sideline in selling legal bud, you still have to go to shady corners to get deals and because it isnt legal to sell but legal to possess anyone willing to break the law profits. there it was crackheads who from what i was told became more of a problem when the rec laws came in.

i got sad about the future of weed and tried to explain how we are.in a golden age of weed and it will only get crazier from here unless it is legal like catnip and turnips. now it is here

buy from your local dealers and sheeet, try and get some homebrewed beer too if thats what your into. you are supporting your local economy. that goes for every dollar really. if the farmers markets were flooded with twice the demand they would produce more good organics. if we choose cheap shit they will make more of it.
 

yardgrazer

Active member
Not sure this will help you Sertaiz, but when I was using that dispensary locator I saw that the Easthampton dispensary (only med atm) had preground ounces for 150. Gotta think once everything is really up and running that there will be product aimed at most price points.

For now NETA was clever to price their 8ths at 50, to your average person looking to pick up something of that size that's basically no change in price. Ounces are still a little expensive compared to the local market.
 

eyes

Active member
Veteran
The rec market has taken away all of the money from people who worked and risked their lives for little and been labeled as criminals. While any person with an ID can walk in and buy pot, the business and real estate deals with years of planning are specifically designed to exclude the home producer or hobbyist. The middle person has now become the regulators and all associated parties to maintain the criminal street price at the point of sale. I'll try to stay on topic but this is knocking on my front door, somewhat figuratively and literally. Absence of evidence or whatever it's called. There is no way people are willfully unaware of exactly what they are doing.

I have an uneasy feeling about real estate or financial deals with business minded and investor people speaking inflated values. For example "grower 1" hands "regulator 1" or "distributor 1" a proposal for a greenhouse and says it'll cost millions of dollars. Any financial party involved, or even worse a pooled group of investors, is working as a group to displace everyone in that area at least in the most direct sense of their deemed competition. Why does the best and cheapest product have to be a competition? That is a good question. Without any personal assessment or attack or mudslinging, that is without getting into how good of a grower someone is. That is actually besides the point. Because the business deal relies on the massive scale and all the petroleum inputs. If you handed that same proposal to a sustainable farmer it would look like a joke. Maybe not all here would consider themselves environmentalists but intensive indoor growing is about the fastest way to burn up the planet (global warming, toxic runoff for fish/birds/humans). And also carries an exorbitant price tag, as if they go hand in hand or need one another. And it also means like I feel the bigger the cannabis industry entity the more they want me (as in personally, myself, I) gone or out of the way. This is not a good feeling to have that the job market is lacking or unappealing and pot shops are only opening at five to ten times "black market" cost.

That act of signing the large financial deal alone is enough to disrupt an entire market/community. Because there is no fair real world comparison of what that product actually costs compared to zero regulation whatsoever. Yes it employs people if you hire ten workers to walk under hps lights all day and grow hydro. But consider this. How about asking each one of those employees to grow 4 Dankwolf style plants each and bring them in? Ok are you ready for this, hire a team of people now to do the math and analyze the carbon footprint for each of those two scenarios. The negative environmental impact. And the quality of life for the people involved or the "employees." Then compare the costs pound for pound and the quality. When you add up all of the lab testing companies, you now have another significant fraction of money that is going to employing entry level technicians - this would be the job or political argument. In reality however the money is still going to the same investors while people sit under lights picking away at milligrams of herb day after day month after month. I am not paying for 10-15 additional people making as much per hour in the supply chain. That seems to be the model in place. Now there is a whole market generated on finance and it is supposed to be held up by the idea that 1g of freeze dried costs $25 delivered. If people could cooperate and work together (grower/trimmer/processor/distributor) sharing duties or rotate that would work better than the mega grows in my opinion.

I have a personal vested interest in the place I live and the laws have moved too far away from what is or should be considered legal or moral or just in my view. As in, were I to try and speak like a lawyer, this bill is the footnote that is thrown in with a bunch of other laws designed to oppress divide and keep the majority poor in life as usual. There is a fundamental difference between the value associated with someone on a piece of paper and their value as a person whether it is work or production or contribution effort labor and so on. To reconcile this next wave of finance is difficult/unacceptable/murky legally morally ethically and practically speaking day to day.

What I mean in simple terms is no you cannot get a job as a budtender because there are only so many of those. And no you can't share or sell your product because the only legal option is this imported overpriced processed packaged freeze dried stuff. You may be able to get a job as a delivery driver for this product, but there are only so many of those too. They may start selling licenses, at some time, but those were already sold to one or two people years ago before anyone heard anything about it. Meaning that it is legal to order delivery at $100 an eighth or whatever. But any farmer market individual producing flower is looking at a conspiracy of regulators, out of state distributors and a network that seems to involve politicians rather than consumers or everyday people. This is like the 100% opposite of a farmer's market which IMO is shaping up for a disaster.

If an unknown number of middle parties values land next to your home at a million or a billion dollars and those same parties all deny you any employment in the greater surrounding area, except for $12/hr delivery jobs, what effect does that have on the economy and better yet society or people or quality of life? With the large corporate ops and distributors or shell companies setting up, is that the new warehouse and big box store? So $10k/year for a license and those mostly all go to huge investors in other words not one per person. Which means that everyone as in everyone else, growers, people, $10k/yr at minimum for the little sticker or else you aren't allowed to possess or grow or share more than a certain amt or distribute at all without fines penalties prison time etc. Right there is a big difference, socially and economically, from imprisoning someone, locking them up and not. Now there is a big difference again from advertising a corporation, commercials marketing storefronts developments, and censoring or deleting accounts or only having paid ads. Net effect is a bait and switch, no change, with a minor consolation prize of not being fined and jailed for smoking pot. This has big ag and food and pharma and banking with politicians which means military written all over it (like the 3+ largest multi-national corporations). I have an ag degree and recently discovered medicine is bogus largely speaking so it is personal (if weed was and is bad, line of thinking -> house of cards effect pretty much). You can't invest millions (valued at billions) in someone's backyard and expect the domino effect to displace everyone around. It isn't so much about money at that point.

2c cheers for no more getting arrested View Image


I do not see any real differences with pot as I see with corporate america in todays practices. They already run most of the show and hold us down with low wages for 'legal" employment. Now that pot is becoming mainstream, they see an opportunity to tax it and make money off of it so surely they are going to leave the small working guy out of the money grab.

Whats one to do: Keep doing what we have before this all came to frution. Keep growin and doing whatcha do. Most of us came to this board and others doing it illegally before all this rec and medical came to light. We were of the era of 400- 500 ounces at one point. So, when I see people complain about 400 ounces, most of us shouldnt be suprised. I see a black market regaining the market share especially with high tax rates coming into play.

Can not stop high real estate prices. It is that way anywhere you go and there is some major player that offers many jobs and improves the area so to speak. This time it just happens to be MJ. Either way, it is and was us who took uncertain risks to prosper and learn from this plant. It is unfortuate that we have to play seond fiddle to corporate greed, but it is not unlike anything that is happening today.
 

yardgrazer

Active member
Over the course of 20+ years the only times I paid that little for an ounce of herb in the Boston area is was pretty pathetic shwag (and I only did it once or twice when I was hard-up and other options weren't available). That's buying an actual ounce, of course, not per ounce when buying larger quantities. On the other hand rents in the Boston area? Insanity.
 

Smokey Pockets

Active member
Hahahahaha!!
I just got interviewed by the local NPR station, in front of Cultivate, because it’s my daughters bus stop!!
Shit was hilarious!!
 

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