[shaggyballs]

This would be a good one for Jhhnn, to give us the boots on the ground story.

Colorado Marijuana Growers At Odds Over Revised Production Rules

Colorado’s pot regulators are trying to make sure the state’s marijuana growers aren’t producing more pot than they can legally sell — a hedge against Colorado-grown pot ending up in states where it’s not legal. But a new set of marijuana production standards up for public review Tuesday sparked a lively debate and highlighted growing divisions between deep-pocketed industry veterans and people trying to get started in the legal weed business.

The production rules are being revised because Colorado once limited pot-growers to the number of medical marijuana patients they served. When the market opened to all adults over 21 in January, those production caps stayed in place as regulators feared a market flooded with more pot than they could regulate. But the result has been a pot market so limited that marijuana can sell for nearly $500 an ounce, far more expensive than black-market prices. Those prices don’t include taxes that can exceed 30 percent in some jurisdictions.

Colorado’s marijuana market is opening to new growers in October, prompting a need for production caps that aren’t tied to a medical-marijuana patient count. The state won’t necessarily produce more pot. Instead, commercial growers will need to prove they’re selling 85 percent of their inventory before getting permission to add plants.

Production caps are needed to “limit the possibility of either overproduction or underproduction of marijuana,” said Lewis Koski, Colorado’s marijuana enforcement director. Industry lobbyists helped craft the proposed rules and supported them in the Tuesday hearing. “Colorado is responsible for making sure marijuana doesn’t go out of state. That’s a big responsibility,” said Mike Elliott, head of the Marijuana Industry Group, which represents about 30 marijuana businesses. But smaller pot growers lined up to complain that the rules amount to state-sanctioned protections for industry veterans.

A major chafing point is a proposal to allow indoor warehouses to grow twice as many plants as greenhouses, 3,600 versus 1,800. Colorado’s medical pot growers were required to use energy-intense closed warehouses using grow lights. Now the state allows greenhouses and even limited outdoor growing, depending on local zoning. Many argued the state should be encouraging marijuana production that uses less energy. Large marijuana warehouses sometimes have five-figure monthly power bills.

“This is a plant. We need to take it away from being inside under lights,” said Greg Duran, who owns a greenhouse-consulting firm. Smaller growers also complained that the lower caps for greenhouses are simply intended to help older warehouse growers. “The only person who is going to benefit is either the power companies, people who are renting warehouses or people who have built huge growing warehouses,” said Thomas Killeen, a would-be greenhouse pot grower from Colorado Springs.

No decision was made Tuesday on the new production caps, which were adopted on a provisional basis in June. The decision ultimately will be made by Barbara Brohl, head of the state Department of Revenue, which regulates marijuana production. Brohl has no deadline to set final rules. The agency also heard public comments on new rules to give edible marijuana consumers additional guidance to avoid eating too much. Other rule changes in the package include lower licensing fees for marijuana growers and sellers, a reduction of about 20 percent caused by what regulators called a maturing regulatory system

[RonSmooth]

If the state does the regulating and they arent in competition with growers, its not price fixing.

Limiting production drives costs up, increases illegal activity, reduces tax revenue. That would be a losing proposition for both parties.

Increasing production floods markets, drives costs down and creates an export economy. When it starts getting into other states and becomes a national story and gives the anti's ammunition. Makes the state politicians look bad and they hate that. Exporters will do well. That will bring in the professionals.

[shaggyballs]

As a side effect it also controls the price.....No?

[MJPassion]

As a side effect it does create an apparent artificial shortage which does indeed drive the prices up...

What's real ignorant, imo, is that med is sold for half of rec right over the same exact counters. (At least in Telluride)

What I see happening is out of state brokers coming to growers with more cash & no info given to the powers that be. No paperwork, other than green, means the world to a lot of folks.

[shaggyballs]

Medical will soon go BYE BYE!
More money in taxing legal weed.
Medical will be pharmacy only!
No home growing..... it is too hard to tax!
Time will tell.
The writing is on the wall......can you read it???
shag

[MJPassion]

The distinction between med & rec is beyond stupid, imo.

The writing is indeed on the wall. It's there, for all that aren't too blinded by illusions of their own grandeur, to see.

I'm not so sure the med systems will disapper. Those greedy pricks, with med shops, that are opposing legalization know exactly what they're doing.

I honestly think that this "legalization" effort is nothing more than a grab for a more complete control of this plant. By legalizing, we now have all these stupid DUID laws to deal with. These laws only further the erosion of our supposedly inalienable Rights to Life, Liberty & the pursuit of Happiness.

[shaggyballs]

Originally Posted by MJPassion

The distinction between med & rec is beyond stupid, imo.

The writing is indeed on the wall. It's there, for all that aren't too blinded by illusions of their own grandeur, to see.

I'm not so sure the med systems will disapper. Those greedy pricks, with med shops, that are opposing legalization know exactly what they're doing.

I honestly think that this "legalization" effort is nothing more than a grab for a more complete control of this plant. By legalizing, we now have all these stupid DUID laws to deal with. These laws only further the erosion of our supposedly inalienable Rights to Life, Liberty & the pursuit of Happiness.

Some see it clear....some not so much?

shag

[Dankstang]

Originally Posted by shaggyballs

Medical will soon go BYE BYE!
More money in taxing legal weed.
Medical will be pharmacy only!
No home growing..... it is too hard to tax!
Time will tell.
The writing is on the wall......can you read it???
shag

I see that happening in Oregon real soon with the recrational bill passing this November

Like the great DHF says......adapt or perish

[BigBozat]

Originally Posted by RonSmooth

If the state does the regulating and they arent in competition with growers, its not price fixing.

Limiting production drives costs up, increases illegal activity, reduces tax revenue. That would be a losing proposition for both parties.

Increasing production floods markets, drives costs down and creates an export economy. When it starts getting into other states and becomes a national story and gives the anti's ammunition. Makes the state politicians look bad and they hate that. Exporters will do well. That will bring in the professionals.

Limiting production to such an extent that price remains sufficiently high to encourage black market is ultimately self-defeating (but maybe that's what Big Brother's game is, and the existing producers who are conspiring with the state out of typical crony capitalist reflex are just too stupid/greedy to recognize it?)

"People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices. It is impossible indeed to prevent such meetings, by any law which either could be executed, or would be consistent with liberty or justice. But though the law cannot hinder people of the same trade from sometimes assembling together, it ought to do nothing to facilitate such assemblies; much less to render them necessary."
- Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, Chapter X, Part II, p. 152.

Allowing unfettered production to the point of creating an export economy [also black market, as crossing state lines are one of the big nonos that'll bring feds down hard on the whole experiment] is also self-defeating...

The State has a delicate balancing act here... remind anyone of old Soviet-style central-planning?

I would think it would be much less of a headache to just open it up to competitive market forces to determine price & production level (fwiw, I'm no free market fundamentalist, but don't see how a bureaucrat [much less a Revenue agent] can realistically determine the right price/production level), and enforce prudentially via regs, bills of lading, audit trails, inspections, etc. -plus- diverting some of the tax revenue to stepped-up interdiction of cross-border trafficking.

[MJPassion]

The State is The Problem!

There are to many uninterested parties creating a stake in the game where they should be completely un involved. Namely the tax collectors that would otherwise be unemployed without these bull shit laws in place.

If this plant were truly legalized, there would be zero money in the game other than possibly a few well known legit as tomato seed companies & botiques to serve those that choose to patronize them.