We can do plenty of field tests to determine if a person is “impaired” while driving. Due to the way Marijuana is metabolized I don’t know if they’ll ever have a test similar to a breathalyzer.
Studies have shown that users intoxicated with Marijuana show an impairment while driving. Much of this effect is mitigated with Marijuana however due to the user being more aware of their impairment and actively compensating for it (driving slower, more cautiously).
He’ll be in for quite the shock when market forces push the price into the floor following legalization. Marijuana is cheaper and easier to grow than any other commercial US crop that I can think of offhand.
I think you fail to appreciate the advantage to be had with folk enjoying considerable experience in growing, processing, and distributing. Wal-Mart is not exactly hurt by low prices…
These guys are nothing if not savvy businessmen, well-poised to succeed in the market wherever it goes. None of them is Cheech or Chong…
This implies that no one else knows how to grow crops. Marijuana isn’t difficult to grow, at all. It’s not like someone growing it now has a monopoly on how to grow plants.
He’s going to have to sell quite a few units, just like Wally World, in order to have a living.
If Marijuana were fully legal and grown commercially it would be cheaper to produce then tobacco.
That guy is going to have to sell quite a few ounces at $20-40/oz (depending on taxes) in order to make any money.
Think of it like homebrewing beer - I know a fair number of people who home brew, but they also buy beer. I don’t think I know anybody who brews all their beer and never buys any other beer… so smokers who grow may not grow all they smoke, or they might. No big ddeal. I bet there are enough people out there who would start smoking if it was legal to make up the difference [or at least buy it once to try, or buy it to keep for guests but not smoke it themselves.]
I don’t think so. Marijuana is widely available, many schoolchildren report it is easier to buy marijuana than alcohol. Most folks that are likely curious about the substance have come across it before. I doubt there is a large population just waiting to get their hands on the stuff once it is legal (or not illegal).
In countries like Portugal and Holland when they implemented more sensible laws, usage rates actually declined.
source: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html
In a legalized marketplace, I think your analogy to home-brewing beer is apt. Many people have hobby gardens growing fruits and vegetables they could buy at the grocery store. I’m sure there would be some who add marijuana to that small garden in the backyard (watch out for the neighbor kids though, build a big fence!).
Not at all. Lots of people know how to grow crops. But I suggest that all crops are not fungible. A successful corn farmer could not switch overnight to tomatoes, or oranges. Sure, there are a lot of things in common, but it is going to take some time for the corn farmer to get up to speed on an entirely new crop.
If you think growing quality pot is easy, I suggest you have not looked into the amount of effort and technology that has gone into pot over the last few decades. The type of weed this guy sells cannot be scaled up to a corn/wheat/beans level of farming, nor can all steps of it be mechanized - at least not yet.
Personally, I am confident that there will be some advantage to those who currently have experience. Of course the size of that advantage can be debated. And that advantage will likely be wasted if they are not adequately flexible and do not look to partner with folk with experience in other areas - certainly including traditional commercial agriculture.
Probably not, but I think that has more to do with not being able to move his field from Iowa to California rather than having the technical know-how to grow oranges.
If you look at how quickly we transitioned to growing Hemp in the Midwest during WWII, I think you might be surprised.
I’m certain there will still be designer market for super-high grade cannabis in the same way there is a market for micro-brewed beer, but economies of scale would suggest that most would be grown industrially.
No argument here. I could see a lot of experienced growers becoming “consultants”.
Silly person. How else can we pay for politicians? Or pot for politicians?
I can see it now…California legalizes, then The Big One comes and the entire state slides into the sea, whereupon fundie preachers declare these are obviously related events. Like, you know – El Supremo got a little stoned one night and decided to have some fun rearranging the planet.
Oh I know. I just wonder how much that will change anything. Companies that prohibit pot smoking for certain jobs still can, and policies can be adjusted as knowledge is gained and tests become more reliable.
I guess it has been so long since I’ve been in contact with ditchweed, that I find it hard to believe anyone still smokes it. But I’m sure they’re out there. Maybe there will be multiple levels, with people interested in a cheap buzz getting served by the equivalent of Anhuiser-Busch or McD’s, and more discerning (and perhaps wealthier) stoners going to Sam Adams, Goose Island, or the micros/independents.
Regarding grow your own, I think there are plenty of people who consider themselves unable or simply unwilling to put forth what many of us might consider the minimum effort of growing. I probably would barring the illegality, but I like houseplants and gardening. A lot of folk, however, especially those with some income and casual habits, would simply prefer to order up a quarter of AK-47, grunk, or whatever they prefer.
Where I live there is an underground movement to “boycott the brick”
Well, when you tried it a few times, were you and your friends also drinking? I know that the effects of alcohol are increased/exacerbated by marijuana. For instance, when I was experimenting with them when I was younger, I learned to never smoke any amount of weed when already drunk. I will become ill. Not a party. On the other hand, the period in which they will interact in this way is short. So, if I switched the order, I did not get sick.
I do agree that if legalized, the effects of THC and friends on your ability to drive should be looked into more carefully. There is some research on the subject, but nowhere near enough to say anything conclusive. From my short search on the subject, I found this review,(yeah, not the most unbiased source) which seems to say:
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We have tests that can detect the amount of non-metabolized THC in your system, but they aren’t very good at determining how inebriated you are.
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In driving simulators, people who are stoned think they’re more impaired than they actually are, and overcompensate, ending up being pretty safe.
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People who smoke heavily aren’t affected by marijuana or alcohol as much as people who don’t. The fact that they aren’t affected by alcohol as much is just weird, and makes me think that heavy cannabis use isn’t likely to be the cause.
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Even if 3 is true, mixing alcohol and pot is worse than either alone while driving.
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People who smoke pot may also be dangerous, risky people who would drive badly without it.
As to the difficulty of growing boutique weed, and economies of scale, I am not sure. I think some of it might be dependent on marketing, and ingenuity. I don’t know of any place that has tried it on an industrial scale that we can get reliable or useful figures from. Tobacco farming seems to occupy at least 2-5 acres of a farm in KY, on average. There are some counties that have an average of 50-99 acres, though. If marijuana was grown on that scale domestically, I find it hard to believe that the price would not go down. Now, if our allies in the WAD decide to legalize production at the same time (I don’t see why they wouldn’t), that would probably change, as the smuggling method is most of what damages the quality of the product from over the border. Still, most marijuana grown in the U.S. is still grown like a prized rose, rather than something someone is going to smoke.
For an example of an approach using marketing and ingenuity, you don’t need to treat the plants nicely to make a high quality extract or hashish. The product would just have to be relatively fresh when you process it. I just have no idea what you’d use to harvest it besides a human. Anyone want to step up and become the malt liquor of cannabis?
Oh, and those tobacco growers in KY, they are recently looking for another product to grow. Is there anyone willing to whip up a “Cross of Hemp” speech?
(sorry, I just read a story about them this morning, and well, I’m not a politician, but someone around here might be. They supposedly grow very good things there already, if you know what I mean.)
I think this is true. It’s probably more useful to think of the analogy of boutique wineries rather than bean fields.
Sure, but the change there will be from Mexican, etc., cartels to American agribusiness. Artisanal cultivators will remain in business. Their prices will decline, but their share will increase with open marketing.
And some would say that’s not much change at all, Zing!
Seriously though, don’t get in Monsanto’s way. You better not be saving any of those Round Up Ready soybean seeds or they’ll come after you with every lawyer they’ve got.
I remember mainly smoking, in my group of friends we had some that were drinkers but not smokers, and smokers that were not drinkers though I will assume that there was overlap in the venn diagram of party.
I personally get uncomfortable with the idea of driving while having had more than a drink, or one or two glasses of wine, but that is just me.
Yeah, that is one of the stupidest effects of the historical scheduling of pot - essentially all research has been prohibited. So opponents can always say there are no studies as to the mnimal harm/therapeutic benefits/etc., and can raise the specter of pot as a threshhold boogeyman without worrying about anyone pointing out studies disproving such fears. What a cock-up.
As far as driving is concerned, I see no reason why the “sobriety” tests cannot simply be designed to test someone’s physical and mental fitness for operation of a motor vehicle. Hell, I don’t care if you are driving erraticaly because you are drunk, stoned, getting head, overworked, tired, or stressing out over personal issues. If you cannot perform the physical and mental tasks required to operate heavy machinery, you should be removed from the road.