Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/05/10/oregon-farmers-are-growing-far.html
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Well, what do you expect, charging top dollar for literal weeds?
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Yup, the elaborate and expensive indoor growing techniques that were once profitable due to the illegality of the plant are not going to be profitable in a legal market. Legal market outdoor grows often employ the same expensive fertilizer and bloom boosting nutrients of the indoor set as well. The growers and the market will both eventually mature enough to see stability. I think a lot of people saw this coming and are prepared to push through the rough spots.
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One the one hand, cheap weed, yay! (Although prices for dece haven’t actually fallen that much, at least at the stores I frequent…)
Buttt…
Market consolidation followed by monopsony is what comes next. Boo.
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Yay, Capitalism at work! It’s interesting that it still functions when we let it. Rents are soft and falling here due to a building boom. Hurts me personally, but this is what’s supposed to happen in free markets.
It’ll be interesting to see what the market ultimately says top grade weed is worth when everyone everywhere can grow it. Not everyone wants to grow their own, the fact that you can legally make your own beer hasn’t destroyed the beer market. What will the tax collections implications be? Will increased volume due to low price make up for lower per gram tax in the states that tax by % rather than weight?
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Wrong. These are the conditions that slaughter the small players, while the larger firms coast it out. The smaller growers will get snapped up, Leaving us with a handful of large companies controlling the industry. Wages will fall, and prices will rise.
What happens when we let capitalism work like it’s supposed to is monopoly, and that’s exactly what’s gonna happen here without serious intervention at the state level.
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Does this mean you can get good weed cheap?
A, uh, friend of mine took a look around a shop in Las Vegas. Prices seemed high (~20 a gram, ~50 for an eighth of high quality), and what they got was somewhat dry and brittle - smokable but just kind of annoying.
(But you could buy a big bag of schwag and make brownies or whatever)
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I disagree, that’s more typical of a high cost of entry business, not a small agricultural one. If prices rise there’s no barriers to entry of new players unless rent seekers get the government to create them. Can you give an example of that kind of consolidation of this kind of industry?
BTW, I have a relative with an extracts startup, a higher cost of entry business, in CA and have heard a lot about how this industry works. Up until recently there’s been a ton of cash floating around with no legitimate outlets, people were actually investing in “collectible” smoking glassware.
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So, it’s just a matter of time before the government is petitioned to shore up weed prices to support those poor weed farmers. Either by setting minimum prices, as with milk, or by paying farmers NOT to grow pot.
These solutions are the opposite of a fere market, but no one ever accused the government of being consistent.
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I live in Colorado, and I’ve seen this very thing. I have a friend that had 50 10’ plants on his land. The first year he sold his crop for ~$1700/lb. The next year he sold it for $900/lb. The last year he had 30 lbs rot in his shed because he couldn’t sell it at all legally. It was a nice Lemon Haze too, tasted wonderful.
I have a hobby grow, and I give tons of weed away, because frankly, I grow too much to stay under the legal limit. I have the prescribed 10 plants (9 growers, one mother), and I get about a third of a pound every ~60 days. You would think my friends would love me, but I’ve also given them clones and they have the same problem.
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I’m high right now.
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There’s so much competition in San Diego, very good stuff is available for 10 bucks a gram. You’re allowed 2 ounces per month.
Good grief. There’s no way I could smoke that much in four months, even.
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But can’t you just try?
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Money was always the limit rather than ambition in my case… I’ve always been a hard worker and I think if I put my nose to the grindergrindstone I could get it done.
Maybe BB would pay me a small honorarium to document the experiment 
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Yes. Think of the children.
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I’m in Portland, and I would say it’s good. Fresh, word that means slightly wet and rhymes with coist, crystally, and about $20-40 an eighth - experience might vary based on your choice of a dispensary
I think the Oregon problem is the vast amounts of farming land plus the initial speculation growing plus a statewide population of about 4 million.
There is tourism and also border jumpers from Washington, but there’s not enough demand for this surplus of crops
Edit: Added definition of censored word…
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So where is the threshold in which you find yourself high while working to get high?
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we can’t say ■■■■■?!
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While I feel bad for anyone that bet their farm on this, the fact is that it’s very easy to grow and that’s always going to pressure prices. Probably easier than most plants people raise for food. I found a small seedling in a sidewalk crack, took it home to throw into a planter with the tomatoes and despite accidentally leaving it in the car for a day, various noobie mistakes, being out of town for a month, and generally doing a terrible job of it I still ended up with a couple years worth of weed. While that was a fluke and I’m happy to pay for better quality,more variety, and most importantly consistency in edible potency, the value added products are the only thing I would bet any of my own money on.
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