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[Totem Polar]

Just curious. Is it more or less expensive than the former illegal product? Too, how does one gain access it?

If you’re asking me about WA state, I can say that I was shocked at the legal pricing. I’m not a user, because, adult, 4473s, and Fed laws, but I *think* I remember what the street price was back when I was a hard-charging high school kid. A quick look inside the one legal place I ever stepped in revealed, like, 1985 prices for a gram. As in, the stuff on sale was less than 10 bucks. It’s been a while, but the one place I looked out of curiosity seemed to range between 12 and 20 bucks for the same amount at retail. That said, I have no idea what taxes add to that total.

My main take-away was that legal weed is to decent, legal scotch what bulk .22LR is to 20-round boxes of .458 win mag—it was that cheap.

[willie]

I observed that in many cases adult family members gave drugs to kids. In almost all cases, parents/guardians were addicted. Of course, my experience is skewed. Time spent in juvenile and adult corrections as well as programs for emotionally disturbed youth revealed that drug addiction put most in these places. Before someone comments that weed is not addictive, I will say that there is a diagnosis called cannabis disorder. I found it interesting that 100% of the kids that I worked with claimed that they would smoke weed when they were released. I don't know the research on whether or not marijuana is a gateway drug but can say that with the kids I supervised, all said that they started with marijuana, and this fact includes the many 13 year old heroin addicts that I saw.

[Totem Polar]

Since data beats conjecture, and I was mostly talking out of my butt, by memory, I figured I’d pull a WA state menu or two for edification. This place, "Sativa Sisters," was one of the first legal weed places in WA state, and the first one in Spokane. It was started jointly (heh) by two retired baby boomer couples as a retirement business project. In the first 18 months they were open, they did something close to 6mil in business—all cash—and payed 2.1 million in taxes to WA state.

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/20...with-pot-shop/

A quick look at their menu reveals that the average price is indeed around 10 bucks per gram, and the bargain basement stuff is half of that. No matter where one’s opinion falls on MJ use, the fact remains: that’s damn cheap entertainment.

I’d be curious to hear from drug enforcement LEOs in the majority of states as to the going price of an illicit gram of weed. It’s gotta be more than 5-6 bucks.

[BobLoblaw]

Sure sure cool so I'll address the elephant in the room: will these rock-bottom pot prices subsequently drop alcohol prices? Just sayin, Lagavulin 16 is like half a case of 9mm..

[0ddl0t]

Legalization has dramatically lowered the price of legal & illegal Marijuana. During Reagan's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) in the 1980s, 1 pound of premium Humboldt could fetch $4,000 ($10,000 today). After California legalized medical marijuana in 1996, prices dropped slowly with premium product selling for $3,000 ($5,000 today). It fluctuated a bit, but mostly held steady as it remained illegal federally and was still subject to frequent raids.

Then in 2009 Eric Holder announced that the federal government would no longer enforce marijuana laws if the grow was compliant with state laws. Combined with the great recession, a ton of new people began to seek their fortune in the industry and prices fell to ~$2,000/pound for premium. In 2016, California legalized recreational marijuana and even more people flocked into the industry. Prices dropped to $1,500 by the end of 2017, and dipped below $1,000/pound in 2018.

That seemed to be the bottom as many would-be entrepreneurs discovered they couldn't make payroll at those prices. Today's prices are:

The price for a pound of untested Indoor ranges from $1100-1400.
The price for a pound of untested summer light-dep range from $900-1100.
The price for winter/spring light-dep are from $650-850.
The price for untested 2017outdoor sits at $500 or less.
The price for untested Material is between $15-40 per pound.


Outdoor harvest will be in a few weeks, which should cause a seasonal drop in price.

[David S.]

On my end of things, I have seen nothing except family and career disruption, despair, and hopelessness come from drug use. Mostly I refer to kids and their families.

What's the effect on one's career and family life for locking them up for NON-violent drug offenses?

I'm all for locking people up for violent actions, whether it's drug related or not. Voluntary transactions, possession and usage. . . not so much.

[willie]

Incarceration whether long or short term is disruptive. Having a kilo of coke or 15 pounds of marijuana in the car trunk and being caught after having a fender bender or wreck would be one example of non violent offense. Such is guaranteed to result in jail time. Dealers run this risk. Those dumb enough to get caught out and about with cocaine, crack rocks, meth, or heroin have exercised supremely poor judgment. Perhaps they have already burned up their brains. They should have stayed home. My social worker orientation emphasizes treatment for users. If I could, I would raise your taxes and mine to establish these programs. In the past I emphasized to my wards that they could avoid many of life's hassles by using common sense: if you have weed in your car, don't violate speed limits. Keep all vehicle lights working properly. Don't talk shit to cops. Better yet, leave your dope at home. If you get arrested, keep your mouth shut. During my last jail job, I booked a nice young man on whose person I found a large number of oxy pills taped in his crotch and inside his thighs. I told him as I told everybody else that if he had shit on his body, tell me now and I will make certain that you won't be penalized. If I find it when I strip search you, then you will be in big trouble. Well, he got in big trouble. When I resigned the job, I went to the back and told the kid not to agree to any plea bargain on the oxy charge. Why? Somebody stole his dope from the evidence locker. I told him that next time he would not be this lucky. Later he was let out and not charged with anything. What I did in this instance put me on many shit lists. I don't care.

[blues]

willie, trying to do a favor for a young girl in possession of a small quantity of a proscribed drug which would have landed her a mandatory minimum sentence...many years later nearly cost me my reputation, and more importantly, my pension as I was nearing the point I could retire.

There was absolutely nothing ulterior in the motive nor the actions taken...but they were not proper procedure and the recipient of that kindness tried to use it as a bargaining chip with federal prosecutors approximately 15 years after the fact. Fortunately, it did not end up biting me in the ass...nor my partner at the time.

No good deed goes unpunished.

[RevolverRob]

Prices dropped to $1,500 by the end of 2017, and dipped below $1,000/pound in 2018. From what was once basically the equivalent of $10,000/pound.

Previously, all $10,000 of that went into the pockets of drug dealers, farmers, traffickers, etc. Everything was done on the DL/grey market, no taxes were collected -

Now, ~$1,000/pound of which how much goes to the state in tax revenue? How much to keep a business open, cash that pays the electric bill and the internet bill, pays payroll to multiple employees (income taxes too!), and subsidizes all the other things necessary to grow the puff, legally?

It's really getting to be difficult to convince me that legalization of marijuana in particular is bad.

The way I see it - In the past $10,000/pound went to cartels and other illicit and violent drug dealers, now even for the illicit sales they are getting ~$1000/pound or 1/10th their previous profit with a weaker dollar to show for it. And there is plenty of legal weed that it has generate a wholesale new set of industries and economies to help generate tax revenue and financial support.

Where is the lose in this? We took money out of the pockets of cartels and put it in the banks of U.S. Citizens and into the tax coffers...

[willie]

Blues, you are absolutely correct about risks we sometimes take to help people. I think that this fact may be more true today than in the distant past, like when I was a young man. Then I was given a break. I always tried to do the same for others. Now, if I had a grand kid who worked in the CJ system, I would caution against taking chances that would end careers.