[garlicnaan]

Wishing there were more news about what is going on in Washington. It seems like Colorado's stable and mostly successful legalization strategy overshadows the Evergreen state in the media. From what I can see, this has been a legislative failure and is possibly heading toward an economic failure. Controls that don't exist in similar industries (agriculture, alcohol) are hamstringing marijuana farmers at the retail level.

As we know, Colorado put in efforts to regulate the medical market before legalization was even on the ballot. Compliant growers were then simply given the opportunity to sell to the general adult public. Easy.

Washington tried to blaze a much different path. Voters were eager to move forward with legal weed and did not assess the potential consequences of I-502. This created an entire industry sector from scratch with plans to reign in and ultimately eliminate the widely unregulated medical market. Artisan growers who have been providing medicine for years have the looming possibility of either ending their livelihood, or diving headfirst into a cesspool of red tape and greed.

On the other side of the law, recreational farmers have overproduced in their market. Too many large farms were licensed before enough retail stores were open, and this fall has seen a huge influx of outdoor crop. There are farms sitting on hundreds of pounds because it is illegal by state law to sell at a loss, and the price points being demanded by retail locations constitute a loss for a number of larger facilities. Meanwhile, retailers buy wholesale and immediately turn around at a 300-400% markup.

I have personally had small "ma and pop" shops tell me how slow business is and can't possibly buy for any more than x per gram. Well, the Liquor Control Board makes a lot of data available, and those same small rural shops were turning revenue at 15-20 thousand per month.

My gripe isn't about my personal financial hardship, because I don't have any. Money never became the bottom line for me. I am basically a casual n00b sitting back, gaining growing experience legally in solitude by some twist of fate and waiting to see if these large unsustainable farms fail. Many put everything they have into this, mortgaging their houses, taking out huge loans, selling everything to jump into this green rush. The mentality became "more plants = more money". Now their product is sitting in warehouses while many retailers are making out like kleptos in a candy store. People say "it's an emerging market, it will work itself out in a year or 2". I just don't see it happening without a period of doom and gloom for the myriad entrepreneurs who had unrealistic expectations. Possibly even a surge of product into the black/grey market, representing an ultimate failure of the goals set by legislation.

Personally, I would like to see integration with the current medical dispensaries, enlarging the retail space and bringing in those people who actually know and love weed. That intrinsic magical feeling of growing is going to die in this state if the lawmakers stay on their current course. The vibe I get from this collective effort is "go big or go home" where the industry should have started much smaller and been given legal room to blossom into something more organic than this forced economic model. But hey, everyone's gotta pay those bills, right?

Sorry if this got a little ranty, just feeling passionate about this right now. I could be a little jaded, but there are people talking about modifying their State Operating Plans to include a consumer point of sale on their farm and proceeding to sell product directly to consumers, whether or not the LCB is on board. I think this would be a great way to get your business shut down with a quickness, but it demonstrates the current attitude of producers. People are getting desperate up here.

Feel free to add your $.02 to the pot, so to speak!!!

[bergerbuddy]

I'm a Washingtonian.... Waiting for my 502 lic to be issued and watching what is happening in the current 502 market. Lets see what happens to the various bills working their way through the legislator. Lets hope Oregon adopts the Co. model and not the Wa. model... eh!!

[Beta Test Team]

Very well said. I too am in WA and was very involved in large scale producer and processor (which still has yet to get its license!). WA so far is a total joke and failure, not only for all the reasons you mentioned, but also for the retail buyer, paying way too much for product and the taxes for that product.

I had high hopes for WA and it's thus far been nothing but chaos and confusion, thanks for the LCB and the state legislature, and in no short thanks to towns like Kent.

[petert]

Well..I'm an Oregon Medicinal grower..Have been for years and I'm considering buying into the Rec Market next year. I'm looking to see what direction the OLCC goes with this. I'm hoping they will learn from WA states failures.
One area I'm concerned with is the out of state investments..I think it might open the door to high paid lobbyists doling out money to shape the law the way a minority with money wants it shaped.
One area that is better than WA's is that (at least so far) there is only one $35 an oz (for bud)tax by the state.The rec market has to be at least close ($$) to inline with the medicinal market cost wise. I also hope they cut out the middle man (wholesaler) and just leave it to Grower, Producer, Retailer, and let current medical dispensaries sell recreationally as well.
Another option is to do away with the Med program and just let those with Medical needs access their products less the tax.

[ApolloAK]

The prices I see in WA are no different from the prices in CA, only difference is when it first went legal the supply was very small which caused a short term spike in price. Now all the 502 producers are shitting themselves because they realize they're not going to get paid 10K a pack. Now they are beginning to set their sites on the medical market hoping they can reduce supply and force everyone to buy their over priced mid grade bullshit.

[garlicnaan]

Exactly, Apollo. I envisioned this to be potentially groundbreaking, with all the deep rooted northwestern stinky hippies freed from the basement grows and blowing consumers away. Instead we got real estate moguls, rich tech heads, celery farmers, ex drug dealers, etc. trainwrecking into the industry with pipe dreams of their faces on the cover of Time Magazine.

I recently went to a new local shop to meet and greet, see what it was about and see the competition's product. All over the walls were endorsements for their only supplier, a large tier 2 corp. The weed was obviously heavily processed, no definitive strain characteristics, resinous but not frosty, yet testing at 35% THC. You really expect me to believe this outdoor grapevine shit is the strongest weed on the planet? From my own experience, the only lab in the area seems to be hit or miss. One of my strains came back at 12.1%, and I made them retest the same sample because I refused to believe it. Same exact sample tested the same day comes back at 21.8%. The numbers clearly mean nothing but are the main selling point for retailers, who I've found in blind visits aren't capable of telling much more than the THC %. Expressing a little knowledge about the product elicits cold aloofness while they move to the next customer and hope they can push a few bags.

Keep in mind, I can't dog this entire market. This is just my experience to date in very rural northeastern WA. I would like to hear any experiences from the west or south if things are different there.

[Chunkypigs]

WA was screwed when they hired that quack Mark Kleinman to write the regs. it's a total failure the way that the program is regulated.The only way the rec program can work the way it is written is if the medical is eliminated.
That was in the plans from the beginning but the cops in Seattle did not buy into it….yet.

The medical market is doing great in WA today with low prices and good quality. Same with the black market, prices going down and more people feel safe running a few lights.

Colorado has the advantage of much of their rec market being propped up by tourists and the neighboring states are hungry for great weed and will pay the taxed up prices.

Huge crackdown in WA medical market this year and I'll betcha the feds will do it. Holder's replacement is anti-medical mmj.

[Weird]

fwiw revenue is not profit

[Jhhnn]

WA suffers from multiple problems, apparently, not the least of which being that I-502 is a very poorly written instrument, complicated by very poor thinking on the part of the legislature & the liquor board. Lack of personal growing provisions lets them maintain unwarranted illusions of control.

Greedy and stupid has never been a great recipe for success.

[BigNoise]

I'm really hoping the OLCC learns a thing or 20 from the WA issues. I won't be surprised though if it is late 2016, rather than early, before they start approving licenses.

Can't say I've done any poking around in any WA rec locations (no need).