I don't have much time in my life to spend on internet forums, which is too bad, because I would like to respond at length to your posts. I have to be quick, so I will just point out a few facts to you.
The folks disagreeing with me are doing so from a free market, free enterprise viewpoint. You will find no greater supporter of free markets and competition than me. The problem is that the new law here in Arizona was designed to stifle the free market and competition in order to benefit out of state interests. Let me illustrate:
The law limits the number of dispensaries to 124 for the WHOLE STATE.
The law prohibits patients from growing their own if they live within 25 miles of a dispensary. This means that over 95% of patients will be FORCED to buy from the 124 dispensaries.
The ballot proposition that was approved by the voters in Nov that contains the above provisions was written by out of state interests.
Limiting the number of dispensaries heavily favors those folks with lots of money and other resources over "mom and pop" type operations and co-ops. Wealthy corporate-style operators from other states can come in and snatch up all the licenses before locals can even start to get ready.
Banning most patients from growing their own insures that those who do get a license will get to dictate price, strain availability and everything else.
There are a lot of people here in Arizona who have been laboring for years to provide high-quality medicine to sick people, often at their own expense, and at the risk of their freedom. Plans were in the works to make a home-grown ballot proposition designed for maximum benefit for the patients here in Arizona. Instead, now we have a law written by out of state interests, that was designed to insure that they will control the market in order to milk cash from sick people.
Lastly, to BiG H3rB Tr3E: You ask "are you so concerned with disallowing out of staters that your willing to pass over all the experience, knowledge and strain selection that they have acquired in over a decade in the medical marijuana field? "
We have plenty of experience, knowledge and strain selection here already, thanks. If we need egotistical arrogance, grossly inflated prices, ties to organized crime or advice on how to alienate the non-smoking community leading to backlashes, we will ask for it.
This is right. ^
The fact that people from Cali or CO or MI might come to Arizona and do a good job of running a dispensary isn't the fear. We of course welcome anyone who wants to do good work for others, whether it's in Arizona, New York and Zambia.
But what happens is this: In Arizona, it's going to cost an outfit $5K just for the application fee. Factor in attorneys fees and the other expenses required to actually be in the running for one of the few licenses being offered and you're looking at $20-30K minimum just to have a chance at a license. Then you need the $200K+ to get the thing off the ground. And this isn't an industry where you can just go get a loan from a bank, which means that people who have $750K cash to play with have an incredible advantage over the locals who live here, raise families here, and call it home.
Most of the people from other med states who have big money to play around with in the new AZ market have that money because they're charging unfair prices for weed in their "medical" dispensaries in those states. If you're charging $300+ per ounce, you aren't serving patients. You aren't even serving your community IMO. You're taking advantage of them.
And I have friends running dispensaries in CA and CO and they see Arizona as "a market" and that's it. They want to make a buck by expanding their already-thriving businesses into another state. To some of us, Arizona isn't just a "market"... it's our fuckin home. You'll have to forgive us if we feel a little hesitant to hand over our emerging cannabis industry to the highest bidders.
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