Do we really want it legal ?

I see so many posts where posters will say they wish it would be completely legal . Be careful what you wish for . Somehow it has to be kept in the hands of the small independent growers like it is right now . How can it be done ? I haven't got a clue but someone out there should be smart enough to figure it out .

Imagine what it will be like if it becomes fully legal , the big company’s will go off-shore for their growing like they do everything else and no US grower will be able to grow and even match their prices , not even with greenhouse growing . What Uruguay is doing will be followed by many other country's
Uruguay: Lawmakers Authorize Marijuana Production And Sales

Under the pending law, residents of the South American nation will be able to legally purchase up to 40 grams of cannabis per month. (Sales to non-residents will not be permitted.) Price controls will set the cost of cannabis available at state-stores to $1 per gram. The forthcoming law would also allow households to grow up to six cannabis plants each; it also allows for the establishment of cooperatives, which will be able to grow as many as 99 plants.

I see the business model as being comparable to the beer or wine. You'll always have your Pabst Blue Ribbon, Anheuser Bush, and your Samuel Adams. I plan on being Sam Adams after it's legal (If I'm still around) There will always be a discriminating clientele, and that's all the clientele I want anyway.

I tend to agree in one respect and that is if it's legal, big companies will take over and control the product as well as the price, however I would hope that at least we small home growers would be alowed to grow our own, even it was controled as to how many plants are alowed, similar to beer,wine,tobacco, wereas we're alowed a certain amt to brew or grow.

Marijuana surpassed corn as the #1 cash crop in America a few years ago. There is a TON of money to be made, and you best believe that big business will find a way to make it. On the one hand I want to see marijuana legalized so that no more people land up in prison over a harmless plant. On the other hand I don't want to see full legalization because that will open the door for Phizer and Merck to monopolize the market and legislate us small growers out of business.

Decriminilaztion seems like the best compromize to me.

At least a lot of people can be spared prosecution on drug charges.

Is it perfect? No, but legalizing allows for free market to go to work.

Where I draw the sanity line is over-taxation. I don't think the percentages should be any higher than those levied on alcohol.

Jack Harer said:

I see the business model as being comparable to the beer or wine. You'll always have your Pabst Blue Ribbon, Anheuser Bush, and your Samuel Adams. I plan on being Sam Adams after it's legal (If I'm still around) There will always be a discriminating clientele, and that's all the clientele I want anyway.

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I see your point and can see that working but only if your product is that much better .
I’m in Florida and they are laying the ground work to make it legal in 2014 , the assholes ( short for lawyers and lawmakers ) say it is “For The People “ but the people will not be allowed to grow their own .its for Big Pharma and Big Business and again as always the people will get screwed , I for one want to see it set up so a person could grow their own and sell for profit . America was built on that concept . Allow no imports and keep government out of it . My only obligation should be to get a business permit and pay taxes on my profit

I want it to be legal because I don't want anyone going to jail because of this plant but I also think once it isPhizer, Merck, Monsanto and DuPont are going to totally change the plant and instead of having 100's of options in what we can grow we will have 10-20 that are only really different in name and chemicals added.

st0wandgrow said:

Marijuana surpassed corn as the #1 cash crop in America a few years ago. There is a TON of money to be made, and you best believe that big business will find a way to make it. On the one hand I want to see marijuana legalized so that no more people land up in prison over a harmless plant. On the other hand I don't want to see full legalization because that will open the door for Phizer and Merck to monopolize the market and legislate us small growers out of business.

Decriminilaztion seems like the best compromize to me.

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That would be cool , full Decriminalization up to a certain plant count that would keep the big company's out . But the big company's run our system so how could we the people get something like that in place ?

I'm pretty sad for Canada's 2014 law change...

Jack Harer said:

I see the business model as being comparable to the beer or wine. You'll always have your Pabst Blue Ribbon, Anheuser Bush, and your Samuel Adams. I plan on being Sam Adams after it's legal (If I'm still around) There will always be a discriminating clientele, and that's all the clientele I want anyway.

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Are you assuming that you will still be able to grow at home?
It could go the route of liquor. No more homegrown and only commercial manufacturers allowed and they have to be able to jump through all the Federal hoops.

Yeah, it's all dependent on allowing the little guy to get a slice of the pie. Right now it's not all that hard to become a licensed micro-brewery, hopefully there will be provisions in the law allowing something like that. Like vineyards or something.

You all seem to forget that we do have the right to brew home liquor, as well as grow our own tobacco, only we are limited to how much we're allowed.

DeeTee said:

You all seem to forget that we do have the right to brew home liquor, as well as grow our own tobacco, only we are limited to how much we're allowed.

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There you go ,

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/make-liquor-at-home.html

It is legal to make liquor at home as long as you do not use a still.

Lots of free CO2 , correct ?

NEEDMMASAP said:

There you go ,

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/make-liquor-at-home.html

It is legal to make liquor at home as long as you do not use a still.

Lots of free CO2 , correct ?

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I was recently in a grow room shared with a brew and noticed an odd mold on the surface of the plant medium. The plants were in veg and seemed healthy, but that would definitely scare me in flower.

The "people" , meaning small growers should come together and form some kind of council/board. Kind o like the milk board here in Maine. Try and have control on our own production

TheMan13 said:

I was recently in a grow room shared with a brew and noticed an odd mold on the surface of the plant medium. The plants were in veg and seemed healthy, but that would definitely scare me in flower.

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Maybe not such a good idea , I’m not a grower YET , so I don’t know , but it would definitely scare me to .

I like those Kubby TV video's you post .

If you're afraid of big business coming in and than only having say Newport northern lights, or Marlboro men do madness available, do what I do, stock pile mass amounts of genetics now..
And as far as taxation, Idk, I don't live in Michigan, but in my state, the tax on a pack of cigs is almost 40% of the.price, yet a buy them.. secondly, tax only applies to people who buy bud, which excludes me and a lot of members of this forum.. they could raise the tax to 100%, and it'd not cost me a cent as I can't remember the last time I had to buy cannabis ..
I'm just tired of being arrested for small amounts, twice now I've spent time behind bars for under a gram, and once for .04 grams.. that is friggin so beyond retarded it's not even funny..
I say legalize.. bring it on.. getting all worried about the what it's is just too much.to me to get my panties in a bunch and say screw legalization .. I don't even honestly see cannabis being fully legal on the federal level in my life time, so worrying about things like Monsanto and pfitzer seems to be so far in the future, maybe my kids will see it, maybe not..

NEEDMMASAP said:

That would be cool , full Decriminalization up to a certain plant count that would keep the big company's out . But the big company's run our system so how could we the people get something like that in place ?

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Start a PAC? We are growers. We can grow our way out of this mess.

with over 350,000 members just on this site alone, if everyone sent in $5, we'd be a formidable PAC!

NEEDMMASAP said:

There you go ,


http://www.midwestsupplies.com/make-liquor-at-home.html


It is legal to make liquor at home as long as you do not use a still.


Lots of free CO2 , correct ?

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My example was to show that the Feds can make restrictive laws and used distilling alcohol as an example. Your above example is not distillation (according to the laws the above link would be considered a wine). It is against the law to distill alcohol in the home. Homebrewing only a relatively recent development thanks to Jimmy Carter. It was only made legal in Alabama and Mississippi this year.


The fact is once marijuana is legal we have no idea the restrictions that they will place on growers. My thought is that it will begin as being very restrictive like distilling. I own a winery and am looking to expand into distilling so I have a little experience in this area. As a grower are you willing to get local township approval, state approval and related background check and bond, submit detailed property descriptions along with building layout, Mich dept of agriculture approval and related fee, approval through Feds with related fees insurance and bonding along with fed inspections? The TTB (Tax and Trade Bureau) doesn't allow wineries, breweries, distilleries to be in a home. It has to be separate so there goes basement grows. Are you going to buy a dedicated grow building? Don't forget that the TTB can request testing.


I'm sure hope I'm wrong but we already have an example of how the government took an illegal substance and made it legal. It began with very restrictive laws and over a long period of time became less restrictive.