OMG. I haven’t fooled with reefer in 15 years, but this post here brought back sooo many memories. Truer words were never spoken! OMG, the losers, dipshits, bores, morons, rednecks, and downright SCUM I would hang out with at least once a week to buy my bag. Having said that, this does make me want to go off topic a bit:
There was this one dealer I had who was a genuinely good person and a pleasure to be around. My other friends and I had the conversation, more than once, that he was going to end up either dead or in prison, because he was way to trusting, one of those people that always saw the good in people. That, combined with the fact he also dealt in hard drugs, sealed his fate. He got busted multiple times, and the state finally put him away for at least 10 or 20 years. Conflicting emotions, I hate to see such a good person in prison, but he KNEW it was illegal, the state gave him MULTIPLE chances before he ended up in prison, and he still chose to live the easy life by dealing (which is easy money BECAUSE of the risk of prison and violence). I think early on he could have been persuaded to not deal hard drugs by opening his eyes to the lives he was helping to wreck, but he was to far into the crap and culture himself toward the end, and wrecked his own. Going even MORE off-topic, he was also homosexual, and his friendship was what opened MY eyes to how stupid and evil bigotry toward homosexuals is, and enabled me to realize and wash away the last of my own prejudice toward homosexuals. I will always be grateful for that.
It isn’t even more expensive once the market settles down. Current prices I have seen are $140 per half ounce, or $10 per gram. And not a gram of stems and seeds that you don’t need, real, high quality stuff. The analysis and THC levels are listed on the package and the weights and measures are monitored by the state, just like other things you might buy by the weight. You can buy boutique strains for more if you prefer. You can have several different kinds on hand at home if you wish to have variety. You are no longer at the mercy of “this is what I got.”
I look up the product list on line, decide what to buy, then I go into the store at the local mini-mall and buy from a lady who looks like she should be teaching elementary school and walk out. Simple, clean, and honest.
One problem for legal sellers is that they don’t have access to the sort of resources that other retailers enjoy. Federally chartered banks won’t take their money because the Federal Reserve won’t lend to them if they do, for example. Congress is apparently considering legislation that would drop that restriction. In a similar vein, they are unable to purchase certain types of insurance because the insurance contract could be unenforceable.
Yes, the money issue needs to be cleared up. As it is now most of the transactions are cash only. And even for these businesses to pay the taxes to the state involves the transport of large cash amounts to the state to pay these taxes. This is ridiculous and an invitation for violent robbery.
I think that there is enough attractive tax moneys that the state representatives will succeed in getting the banks on board.
I don’t quite understand what happens in Colorado. Yes, the Feds won’t allow federally chartered banks to take MJ transactions, except that every dispensary I know of takes all forms of credit cards. I don’t know how this works because I would think the CC companies would be leary also. Colorado is trying to establish a state chartered credit union for the MJ people, but the NCUA(? deposit insurance thingy for credit unions) is stalling on the approval and they have just been sued to force them to approve.
I was told (by friends who shopped in one while visiting relatives in Colorado) that they were told that the charges would appear on their credit card bill under a different name than “Joe’s Marijuana Dispensary” – either the owner had another business that he ran the credit cards through, or they just had a rather anonymous name used on credit receipts. (I’ve heard that back when (before the internet gutted the business) companies that sold mail-order porn videotapes did the same thing.)
A place I know of uses an point of sale ATM reader hooked into their registers. You are basically making an ATM withdrawal but no cash changes hands, but they don’t take credit cards just debit.