The Argument for Cheap Cannabis Licensing & Low-Cost Access
The other day I stumbled on some Reefer Madness written by our #1 cannabis antagonist – and the guy who probably snitched on everyone in high school. He wrote about the “Dangers of Big Marijuana” as he tends to do – and while I would like to rip his prohibitionist rhetoric to sheds – it isn’t the purpose of this article.
However, I must admit that Sabet did play somewhat of a role in inspiring this article and in particular about “Big Marijuana”.
Some people are “for” corporate cannabis while others are “against” it. I personally fall somewhere in the middle. I don’t think “Big Marijuana” is actually as bad as both prohibitionists and activists think it will be – especially if we have some fair rules in play.
However – the cannabis system as is currently is anything but fair. It’s a regime that caters to those who have money and fucks anyone else who isn’t sitting on thousands of dollars to start their businesses – in some cases hundreds of thousands.
There is no equivalent of a “Farmer’s Market” for weed and with state licensing so expensive, there is a definitive barrier for people of the lower-income-bracket.
This means that “BIG MARIJUANA” only exists because legislators are creating it. I’m not saying we should ban big marijuana companies from participating in the market – on the contrary. I completely advocate for the “Mainstream Weed” to get good and establish itself as a major player in the cannabis marketplace.
Why?
It will drive down the price per gram and increase our access to more products. It will also speed up research and development not only for recreational purposes but for medicine as well. Sure – it will probably be capped at a certain percentage and perhaps the strains won’t be the “best in the world” – but it will be better than Brick.
It will also be a great “entry point” for the average consumer. Not everybody is a cannabis smoker like YOU – not everybody can dab and be fine.
The mass market for weed will find the “sweet-middle” in terms of consumer preference. This means that unless you wander into the “craft cannabis” market – you’ll probably not be able to find the “Most Potent” strains.
I’m talking FAR FUTURE where weed is sold in Walmart. In the meanwhile, the dispensary solution will carry all of the weed, however, once the mass-market is breached – the game will change.
Why we should get as many people in the cannabis industry as possible
I personally think that to have a right to grow and sell cannabis should cost no more than $1,000 per year for a license. This should allow folks to be able to sell their cannabis to other people at places like Farmer’s Markets, direct sales, or some bulk sales to dispensaries.
Of course – this should include that the weed must be tested and some regulations need to be met. However, if you’ve got a few pounds of Cheeba you grew – you should be able to either sell it directly to anyone willing or to a dispensary that will accept it.
This should cover “Small scale licenses” that would cost $1,000 a year to maintain and serves as your permit to sell publically up to $100,000 per year [or some other more defined number]. Once you hit this “money threshold” – you’ll need to upgrade your license for more “commercial/Industrial” licenses. This will require stricter quality control measurements – but still not be exceedingly expensive.
I believe we should live in a 3-tiered system:
No License – You can grow weed, smoke it, possess it, at whatever amounts you desire, except you can’t legally sell it. You can barter though.
Small Scale License: This costs $1,000 and provides you with coverage for one year. Also – once you hit a monetary threshold within a single year, you would be forced to upgrade your license.
Large Scale License – This is for those who will be doing large scale sales to labs, dispensaries, processing facilities, etc.
Why make it cheap?
If you make entry to the cannabis industry cheap – you increase the number of players on the field. It establishes a competitive – low-cost market and will weed out bad players very quickly. When “price” is no longer the entry point and “quality” and “process” becomes the dominating factor in selling cannabis – things will change rather quickly.
Most importantly – people talk about “equality” and “leveling the playing field” but they don’t address the licensing fees. “Let’s make minority communities participate [BUT WE STILL WANT MONEY!]
But what happens when you remove the money from the equation and allow people – irrespective of where they are from, a cheap entry-level into the market. If they manage to grow their businesses – they can build an empire and if they don’t, they only lost some time and some money.
However, right now – the poor and underrepresented can’t enter the weed market for the simple reason that it’s too expensive. Unless that changes – things will always be one-sided.
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