gomer
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I don't exactly agree with this reporter's price per pound figures, but they are less than previous years. In parts of the North Bay prices are starting to climb again. Growing high quality organic plants indoors helps local growers avoid situations like the one he describes where a grower can't get rid of his harvest. Quality is becoming more important each year.
This story is by NPR reporter Michael Montgomery.
For decades, illegal marijuana cultivation has been an economic lifeblood for three counties in northern California known as the Emerald Triangle.
The war on drugs and frequent raids by federal drug agents have helped support the local economy — keeping prices for street sales of pot high and keeping profits rich.
But high times are changing. Legal pot, under the guise of the California's medical marijuana laws, has spurred a rush of new competition. As a result, the wholesale price of pot grown in these areas is plunging.
"What's happening is the people that don't have quality product aren't selling it. So they're the ones that are creating this panic. So it really comes back down to that, just like in every other agricultural industry. When you get too many vineyards and too many people growing vines out there, then only the good ones make it." - Tim Blake
Matt Cohen is one of those growers who are making it. On an organic farm near Ukiah, Cohen raises chickens, grows vegetables and cultivates high-grade medical pot. He has avoided the downturn by distributing marijuana directly to patients. But other growers who rely on middlemen and dealers for legal and illegal sales are in financial trouble.
"And I know people, and they're living from credit card to credit card," Cohen says. "They're not even making money. It's just a lifestyle that they're in and the alternative is to go do what?"
This story is by NPR reporter Michael Montgomery.
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