Californianns shocked at the taxes on their marijuana

[just Warren]

Some years ago in my city there was an illegal grow happening in a commercial building out near our airport.

They were only discovered when the neighboring business finally woke up and asked the power company why they were being charged so much for electricity. 

So that's one way to power your op.

It takes gumption though. I don't know how one taps into the power supply of another place even one where they share a wall and you have to count on the other guys not noticing. But it took at least months for them to realize they were being electro-burgled.

[freakazoid]

My brother grows his own and I've had a good look at several different operations he's had.  If you're growing indoors there's a number of pitfalls.
Room to grow, equipment, noise and smell.  His current setup is an indoor hydroponic tent.  Perfect temperature and humidity control.  Requires pumps that flush water into the grow on a timer, and fans that blow out excess humidity.  You can literally smell that skunky aroma when you open his front door. Anything but a small grow eats a ton of electricity.  Indoor growing is the best for quality control.
Outdoor grows can be done anywhere there's fertile land, but is harder to control.

I'm assuming you are talking about growing tobacco. Has he ever had problems with cops showing up? I know that that is a risk with indoor marijuana growers due to a suspiciously high electricity bill and also the risk of heat signatures from the lights.

[Scout26]

I don't know why they're complaining about the taxes.  Isn't this what we've been told all along??  Legalize It and tax it.  Isn't this what they wanted ??

[Firethorn]

I don't know why they're complaining about the taxes isn't this what we've been told all along Legalize It and tax it isn't this what they wanted

It is what I wanted.  I don't use the stuff.  I merely want the taxes low enough that the legal product can compete with illegal, preferably beat it on price in order to drive illegal dealers bankrupt and out of business.

That said, it can be hard to compete with things like weed grown using stolen power.  But I wouldn't remove the criminal penalties for stuff like that, so illegal weed would have the problem of limited availability.

Basically, it might take a few years with taxes this high, especially with the Feds making life as difficult for state legal grow operations as possible, to drive the established illegal channels out.

[KD5NRH]

It's "easy", but not everybody has the room(what if you're living in a studio apartment?), or even the minimal greenthumb required.

It's called weed for a reason.  Former roommate accidentally grew a plant along he trail to his favorite hiding spot once.  Compared to my forays into home-growing tobacco in the same area, I'd have to call that pretty darn easy.  (And I did grow a quite nice Virginia Gold plant in a 14" pot.  Basically let it stay rootbound for a while in smaller pots, so it apparently became tolerant to the condition and self-dwarfed at about 4' tall in the 14", though still produced some massive leaves.  Interesting flavor, but then I used to roll cigs from Escudo on occasion, so my definition of interesting is not necessarily a typical smoker's.)

[230RN]

Owned a small piece of ag property once, noticed what I thought might be weed growing along the ditch.  (I'm not an expert in IDing Mary Jane.)

Told a toker friend of mine about it, told him if it was pot, he had permission to get it out of there.

He did.

Feedback was it wasn't good pot, but it was free pot.

I was happy, he was happy.  'Cept he was probably <ahem> happier than me.

I sold the ground the next year.

[Firethorn]

Oh, I'm not disputing that growing weed is easy, that is why I said minimal greenthumb.

I'm noting that nobody has mentioned the necessary room to grow pot.

230RN - That brings up another point.  Growing pot may be easy, but how easy is it to grow *good* pot?  How much work?  Working off from what I have heard, making good pot requires sexing the plants to make sure the males are removed, as unfertilized buds are the best.  You have to fertilize carefully, as too much or too little negatively affects the quality.  You have to provide the right amount of light, harvest at the right time, then process the buds and leaves yourself.

While perhaps not difficult, it takes research, time, and effort.  As opposed to nipping down to the local dispensary and buying some good stuff straight up.

[HankB]

Several decades ago, someone planted weed in the planters outside the main headquarters of Chicago Police Department. Despite all the cops going in and out 24/7, nobody took notice of it until someone called in an anonymous tip to one of the local TV stations, who showed up with a camera crew.

Much embarrassment in CPD. 

I've read that a LOT of low-grade marijuana grows wild in S. Dakota - they call it "South Dakota Ditchweed." I think it got loose during WWII when they were trying to use it as a source of hemp for ropes.

I have not looked into it, but ever since Washington legalized marijuana, first for medical and then recreational use, it is either illegal or severely restricted to grow your own.  The state wants to be able to tax it and they do that through the retail channel.

I'm sure that will stop a low-volume pot head who's only doing it for personal - not commercial! - use. 

[Ben]

Dwight Schrute:   I've seen this kid before. He's one of the kids that sneaks onto my farm and steals my hemp.

Delivery kid:   Yeah I know that guy. He's that farmer that grows really crappy weed.

[Phyphor]

Growing crappy weed in and of itself is easy.  Growing good stuff requires actual knowledge and work, so the vast majority of stoners aren't about to try it.  If it takes more than a little miracle grow in the dirt & watering every few days, it ain't gonna happen.

If they got the taxes down low enough, and the quality high enough (similar to how cigs and booze are,) the illegal dealers would be basically done for.

[Firethorn]

If they got the taxes down low enough, and the quality high enough (similar to how cigs and booze are,) the illegal dealers would be basically done for.

As I'm not a user, this is what I'm shooting for - get rid of the illegal dealers and distributors and growers* without having to create a police state.  The lower the odds are that the local SWAT will be busting down my door by mistake, the happier I am.  The less opportunities the police have to become corrupt, the happier I am.  So on and so forth.

*I'll note that I don't give a *expletive deleted*it about somebody growing for personal use.  Here I'm talking about the illegal use of federal, state, and other people's private lands, the irresponsible use of fertilizers and pesticides, etc...

[Fly320s]

Why tax pot at all?  Treat it like any other product.  It gets a sales tax if appropriate, but never any other tax.

[TommyGunn]

Why tax pot at all?  Treat it like any other product.  It gets a sales tax if appropriate, but never any other tax.

Because   there  are a LOT of  potheads out there and politicians all have  $$$$$ where normal people have eyeballs.


That's why.

[Phyphor]

As I'm not a user, this is what I'm shooting for - get rid of the illegal dealers and distributors and growers* without having to create a police state.  The lower the odds are that the local SWAT will be busting down my door by mistake, the happier I am.  The less opportunities the police have to become corrupt, the happier I am.  So on and so forth.

*I'll note that I don't give a *expletive deleted*it about somebody growing for personal use.  Here I'm talking about the illegal use of federal, state, and other people's private lands, the irresponsible use of fertilizers and pesticides, etc...

I'm not a user, either.  I do know quite a few, however, and the plain and simple fact is this: People are going to use no matter what the police do.  As it's relatively low risk compared to other drugs (meth, cocaine, heroin, etc,) I can't really see much reason for the war on (some) drugs to continue.  Too many people have been killed, traumatized, or imprisoned over stupid crap.  The drug cartels also have been empowered, thanks to the whole black market aspect.

[Jamisjockey]

Why tax pot at all?  Treat it like any other product.  It gets a sales tax if appropriate, but never any other tax.

Because our puritanical betters can't resist taxing a vice.

[Fly320s]

Because our puritanical betters can't resist taxing a vice.

Being a Policritter is a vice.

[Firethorn]

Because our puritanical betters can't resist taxing a vice.

This, basically.  It's how you get enough non-users on board to legalize it.  To "pay" for the assumed social costs.  Etc...