Is this or is this not a plausible scenario?
Pot can now be purchased at licensed outlets. Presumably, these outlets (unlike traditional street dealers) have retail overhead, to include taxes to be paid to the state. Assuming this to be true, legal/outlet selling price would be higher to compensate for this overhead.
All this said, why would anyone pay a legal/higher price when their pot could be purchased through traditional “street” outlets?
Ever dealt with a pot ‘street’ dealer? In my…friend’s experience, it’s hard to find a good one. They are either notoriously unreliable or the quality is somewhat lacking. I–my friend would pay those taxes just to be assured of quality and reliability. Also, convenience. In the words of Doug Stanhope, if you had to wait around in a parking lot until 1 am just to buy a six pack of beer, no one would drink.
Thus far, the added risks and costs associated with growing and distributing the stuff illegally add way more overhead than just maintaining a storefront and paying some taxes.
It still somewhat remains to be seen how vigorously the local authorities will continue to prosecute marijuana growers and sellers who don’t conform to the legalization framework. It also remains to be seen what the feds will do. If they extends their recent policy of leaving the medical marijuana growers alone if (and this is a big “if”) they’re in compliance with the state law to recreational pot, that will keep the heat on the illegal growers and make the legal options more appealing.
On the other hand if it becomes just a nuisance tax-evasion issue, you could very well have a niche market for cheaper illegal stuff sort of like moonshine in some parts of the country. Another thing is that you will allowed to grow your own, which isn’t terribly difficult, so that might get pretty popular among cheapskate users.
There are also town and city taxes.
I was the care giver for my Moms MMJ (Medical Marijuana Rx) through a MMJ prescription. So I would buy it and make it into a lotion.
Now, I talked to my Mom about this, and she did decided to let the yearly prescription lapse. It’s expensive and a pain in the ass. At least for my 83 year old mother because she did the prescription legitimately. Real doctor, send in all the paper work and such. Cost… about $180 a year. That’s way more than the taxes will be.
As I understand it, a lot of the MMJ places are setting up so that they can sell both MMJ (prescription stuff) or without an Rx (but they are two different businesses in the same store, it’s sort of weird). The stuff without an Rx will be taxed. It’s gonna be the same stuff. It’s just not worth it to get an Rx anymore though, unless you buy a LOT. I think the MMJ Rx limits you to an ounce a month.
From what I read, there are only 18 dispensaries in Colorado today that have the legal license to sell MJ. The red-tape is holding things up. There must be 1000 (? wild ass guess) MMJ dispensaries in Colorado. They seem to be about as common as liquor stores.
To get back to your question SanDiegoTim, I doubt the overhead for the business and or taxes is going to be a problem. People can grow their own if they want, and there are large commercial operations going on to grow it. The ‘street dealer’ will be out priced easily.
Now I suppose it’s possible that someone will have a special strain that they grow themselves. And would share it with friends. Much like home brewers. But if you want a 6 pack of beer you go to the store.
The Feds have unofficially promised to stay off our backs as long as the state has a robust regulatory scheme. So I imagine that the state and local authorities will crack down quite hard on people who fail to follow the rules.
Obviously this is not true as we have things like grocery stores, walmart, and 7-11 instead of a bunch of guys on the street hocking stuff.
Taxes and business overhead costs are just two of many factors that determine the supply curve and therefore the price given a demand curve.
In the black market pot world, a much larger determinant is the threat of The Law at all points in the supply chain. At each point there is someone who won’t contribute to the chain unless their price is high enough to justify the risk. The price is different for each player and therefore determines how many players are in the game an thus the amount of supply.
The risk restricts supply and keeps the price high.
Another consequence of being illegal is that, if someone rips you off, you can’t call the cops on them so you have to take care of the problem yourself. If you don’t have the stomach for that, you won’t last in the illegal drug trade further limiting supply.
A legal supply chain does not have these disincentives so more players will produce more supply keeping the price down.
18 in Denver. 30 Statewide. Still not a lot.
If the DEA doesn’t start playing Pop-the-Weasel with them, I’ll bet there are hundreds within a year.
FWIW, the actual numbers are $200/oz., $35/eighth. Plus, your Red Card is $100/year.
I expect the legal dealers will have a much greater transaction volume than the street dealer (per hour labor).
CNN reported the total cost for an eighth was about $59, including the sales tax.
Unless they change the law, you have to first be a medicinal marijuana distributor before you can sell it retail. This will slow down the spread. Also, local municipalities can refuse to license anyone to sell it.
What’s a Red Card?
Right. The CNN article (I believe) said that Colorado Springs was pretty much entirely opting out. Since it’s a military town, it doesn’t surprise me a whole lot. Bet not a lot of the northern counties that voted for secession will be going for it either (being the more conservative ones).
Awful lot of people watching to see how this plays out. Our last (Republican) governor (Minnesota) vetoed Medical Marijuana back in 2009 because Law Enforcement opposed it. Our current (Democrat) governor has said he won’t sign it if LE opposes it :rolleyes:, but then a week or so ago told both sides to work out an agreement. Since the LEO orgs rabidly oppose it (because they make too much money off forfeiture, in truth), there’s no way there will be any agreement.
Despite 65% public approval for it. :smack:
If I read the same article you did, it actually said:
So, an eighth plus an undisclosed number of truffles.
I’m curious about something due to never having used marijuana. Just how much is an eighth of an ounce? One joint?
If my state ever opts to legalize recreational use, I’d be willing to pay the premium for legal product for the convenience and to avoid the risk of arrest/prosecution. You can be reasonably sure of getting true weight, safe product, and it might be nice to have a little selection…maybe one strain for busting out the lava lamp and listening to Dark Side of the Moon, and a different strain for logging in to World of Warcraft for some PVP fun…
3.54 grams
From here.
Has civilisation collapsed yet?
Quality control?