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Legal Marijuana Isn’t the Boon Small Businesses Thought It Would Be

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Re: Legal Marijuana Isn’t the Boon Small Businesses Thought It Would Be

#31

Post by yodsanklai »

AndrewUnmuted wrote: post #18
wils1245 wrote: post #3

Two things of interest that the article doesn’t go into: - Taxes on weed in CA are going to be very high, ~20%. This may drive black market sales. - Online ordering through Eaze is popular, which might drive the familiar winner take all online commerce market dynamic. A lot of people don’t care for the dispensary experience. At the end of the day, this is an agricultural product, and a commodity. It was optimisticall…

> Some heavy users care about certain strains and the like, but I have a feeling that for most people weed is weed. As recently as 5-6 years ago, I would have agreed with this sentiment. These days, however I think this mentality is no longer a responsible one to propagate. Today's cannabis is, in general, much more potent than it used to be. And now there are ways to consume very large amounts of this extremely pote…

> Today's cannabis is, in general, much more potent than it used to be.

I hear that a lot (especially from anti-legalization people), but I don't believe it makes any difference. What makes a difference to the consumer is the amount of cannabinoids consumed, not the concentration in a given amount of weed.

The typical weed consumption experience is to vaporize/smoke/eat some small amount, and reiterate until satisfaction. Once the sweet spot is reached the experience becomes less enjoyable. If your weed is twice as much potent, you'll iterate two times less...

One could imagine a scenario where a user is caught off-guard by a super strong weed, but I don't see this happening. Standard THC rates are 15-20%(?) you're not going to get much more than that amount and you will always notice at the first inhalation if the weed is more potent than what you're used to.

Edibles are different and need more caution. You can eat an arbitrary amount of cannabinoid and get sick. But this is not related to the weed potency.

I totally agree with you that schools should teach harm reduction strategies (don't smoke week but use vaporizers, be careful with edibles, don't drive, don't make it a habit). I also think that prevention should focus on the real risks of regular cannabis usage, which exist and are not benign (de-socialization, learning impairment...) instead of trying to scare people with things that are extremely unlikely to happen.

Re: Legal Marijuana Isn’t the Boon Small Businesses Thought It Would Be

#32

Post by yodsanklai »

root_axis wrote: post #20
AndrewUnmuted wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Some heavy users care about certain strains and the like, but I have a feeling that for most people weed is weed. As recently as 5-6 years ago, I would have agreed with this sentiment. These days, however I think this mentality is no longer a responsible one to propagate. Today's cannabis is, in general, much more potent than it used to be. And now there are ways to consume very large amounts of this extremely pote…

> Today people need to be reasonably sure that what they're getting will meet their needs, because for some one hit may send them spiraling in the totally wrong direction. A user with anxiety issues may need to entirely steer clear of sativas because they are known to cause anxiety attacks. But someone who needs to be around other people may need to avoid indicas because they are known to cause delayed responses and…

One datapoint, but I witnessed an anxiety attack on a first time cannabis user (who consumed homegrown indica - sativa are usually more difficult to grow indoor as they get taller).

My conviction is that all these theories on strains having such different effects is mostly BS. Until we have scientific evidence, I stay very skeptical.

Re: Legal Marijuana Isn’t the Boon Small Businesses Thought It Would Be

#34

Post by sysalphUS »

pmoriarty wrote: post #21
wils1245 wrote: post #3

Two things of interest that the article doesn’t go into: - Taxes on weed in CA are going to be very high, ~20%. This may drive black market sales. - Online ordering through Eaze is popular, which might drive the familiar winner take all online commerce market dynamic. A lot of people don’t care for the dispensary experience. At the end of the day, this is an agricultural product, and a commodity. It was optimisticall…

"for most people weed is weed" Never underestimate the power of marketing. Everywhere I look in our world, marketing is king. It doesn't matter how crappy your product is, if it's marketed well, people will buy it.

Case in point: fidget spinners

Re: Legal Marijuana Isn’t the Boon Small Businesses Thought It Would Be

#35

Post by mynameisvlad »

mikestew wrote: post #6
wils1245 wrote: post #3

Two things of interest that the article doesn’t go into: - Taxes on weed in CA are going to be very high, ~20%. This may drive black market sales. - Online ordering through Eaze is popular, which might drive the familiar winner take all online commerce market dynamic. A lot of people don’t care for the dispensary experience. At the end of the day, this is an agricultural product, and a commodity. It was optimisticall…

Taxes on weed in CA are going to be very high, ~20%. This may drive black market sales. WA’s taxes are ungodly high for weed (EDIT: w/o looking it up, more than 20%, that’s for sure). Didn’t seem to slow down things much. A new store just opened closer to the house, and I don’t know of a single store that has closed. Personally, I’m more than willing to pay the “convenience fee” to just drive down the road any time I…

Have a Heart? Their online ordering is the best, and they do essentially a constant 10% off discount if you sign up for their membership (every time you order you get a discount based on your purchase amount you can apply on your next order. I believe it's roughly equivalent to $1 for every $10 purchased.) I switched from Uncle Ike's and never looked back.

The only pro I see for the line is that the staff can help you pick out a nice strain depending on your needs and you don't have to do the research yourself. Personally, I'm in the same boat as you. I get stressed out looking at all the choices while in the store and almost exclusively use the online ordering system before I leave the house. By the time I reach the store (a few minutes away) the order is ready for pickup.

It's crazy to think of how far it's come in the few years since it got legalized. From the quasilegal delivery services or even worse going to Westlake Park or another sketch location at night to a clean, accessible system with some of the nicest people around.

Re: Legal Marijuana Isn’t the Boon Small Businesses Thought It Would Be

#36

Post by AndrewUnmuted »

yodsanklai wrote: post #31
AndrewUnmuted wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Some heavy users care about certain strains and the like, but I have a feeling that for most people weed is weed. As recently as 5-6 years ago, I would have agreed with this sentiment. These days, however I think this mentality is no longer a responsible one to propagate. Today's cannabis is, in general, much more potent than it used to be. And now there are ways to consume very large amounts of this extremely pote…

> Today's cannabis is, in general, much more potent than it used to be. I hear that a lot (especially from anti-legalization people), but I don't believe it makes any difference. What makes a difference to the consumer is the amount of cannabinoids consumed, not the concentration in a given amount of weed. The typical weed consumption experience is to vaporize/smoke/eat some small amount, and reiterate until satisfac…

> One could imagine a scenario where a user is caught off-guard by a super strong weed, but I don't see this happening. Standard THC rates are 15-20%(?) you're not going to get much more than that amount and you will always notice at the first inhalation if the weed is more potent than what you're used to.

For infrequent users, I believe the potency does make a difference because undesired effects could come with as little as a single hit.

Cannabis potency 10 years ago was 7%, and yes today's rates are at around 15%. I figure that means that in 10 years the potency of a single hit of cannabis has doubled.

Re: Legal Marijuana Isn’t the Boon Small Businesses Thought It Would Be

#37

Post by davidw »

renlo wrote: post #27
root_axis wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Today people need to be reasonably sure that what they're getting will meet their needs, because for some one hit may send them spiraling in the totally wrong direction. A user with anxiety issues may need to entirely steer clear of sativas because they are known to cause anxiety attacks. But someone who needs to be around other people may need to avoid indicas because they are known to cause delayed responses and…

It's pretty common knowledge among heavy weed smokers that those strains have those effects. Sometimes science lags a bit behind ...

I don't know anything about pot, but it's pretty evident that conducting controlled studies hasn't been terribly easy, so maybe as that becomes more of a possibility, we'll learn something.

Re: Legal Marijuana Isn’t the Boon Small Businesses Thought It Would Be

#38

Post by Fnoord »

root_axis wrote: post #20
AndrewUnmuted wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Some heavy users care about certain strains and the like, but I have a feeling that for most people weed is weed. As recently as 5-6 years ago, I would have agreed with this sentiment. These days, however I think this mentality is no longer a responsible one to propagate. Today's cannabis is, in general, much more potent than it used to be. And now there are ways to consume very large amounts of this extremely pote…

> Today people need to be reasonably sure that what they're getting will meet their needs, because for some one hit may send them spiraling in the totally wrong direction. A user with anxiety issues may need to entirely steer clear of sativas because they are known to cause anxiety attacks. But someone who needs to be around other people may need to avoid indicas because they are known to cause delayed responses and…

I can't comment on the latter though it may be dangerous to operate machinery or drive just like that's true with SSRIs. Then again, the same might be true with an upper, like Ritalin, or anti psychotics. But the reverse could also be true. Someone with f.e. ADHD who uses Ritalin might be able to be a better driver _due_ to the Ritalin.

As for the former,

1) its widely documented and I can personally attest that marihuana caused anxiety attacks, including one clear case of a psychosis, in numerous occasions.

2) It is also known that people who suffer from schizophrenia should stay clear from marihuana. The same's true if they have a relative who suffers from schizophrenia. Why? Elevated risks to trigger a schizophrenic episode

3) I worked in a Dutch coffeeshop and know that, to put it black-and-white: sativa gets one high, while indica gets one stoned. There's also a lot of hybrids though, as well as some conflicting info. Decent website is Leafly [1]. I was wary to give tourists sativa, as well as spacecakes which we also sold. I recommended them different things instead (including: not buying). My boss didn't give a shit though, as long as people were 18+.

For a good movie about the subject of drug-induced psychosis, see "Das weisse Rauschen" (The White Sound) [2]. Although in this movie the drug which causes the trigger is "magic mushrooms" this movie still takes a good shot at what a drug-induced psychosis could look like.

[1] https://www.leafly.com/

[2] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0276617/

Re: Legal Marijuana Isn’t the Boon Small Businesses Thought It Would Be

#39

Post by Fnoord »

yodsanklai wrote: post #31
AndrewUnmuted wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Some heavy users care about certain strains and the like, but I have a feeling that for most people weed is weed. As recently as 5-6 years ago, I would have agreed with this sentiment. These days, however I think this mentality is no longer a responsible one to propagate. Today's cannabis is, in general, much more potent than it used to be. And now there are ways to consume very large amounts of this extremely pote…

> Today's cannabis is, in general, much more potent than it used to be. I hear that a lot (especially from anti-legalization people), but I don't believe it makes any difference. What makes a difference to the consumer is the amount of cannabinoids consumed, not the concentration in a given amount of weed. The typical weed consumption experience is to vaporize/smoke/eat some small amount, and reiterate until satisfac…

> I hear that a lot (especially from anti-legalization people), but I don't believe it makes any difference.

Oh, it does. A pre-rolled joint at a coffeeshop from 2017 is far more potent than a pre-rolled joint at a coffeeshop from 1997 or the 70s/80s. Beginners often cannot roll their own, and think that they should finish the whole pre-rolled joint all by themselves or together with that one friend.

Beginners: everyone who smoked was once a beginner. Do yourself a favour and take one puff. Then use an ash tray to put the joint off.

Nevermind the people who want to try spacecake, or make their own hash oil.

Also, not everyone's as sensitive, and stomach/sugar has effect as well.

It also has a long half-life, and I've witnessed people starting to believe all kind of paranormal/new age shenanigans thanks to regular cannabis usage. Heck, I've done that myself as well.

Problem with the advice "don't make it a habit" is that many drug users have serious mental problems which they combat (successfully or not) with self medication.

Re: Legal Marijuana Isn’t the Boon Small Businesses Thought It Would Be

#40

Post by paulcole »

renlo wrote: post #27
root_axis wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Today people need to be reasonably sure that what they're getting will meet their needs, because for some one hit may send them spiraling in the totally wrong direction. A user with anxiety issues may need to entirely steer clear of sativas because they are known to cause anxiety attacks. But someone who needs to be around other people may need to avoid indicas because they are known to cause delayed responses and…

It's pretty common knowledge among heavy weed smokers that those strains have those effects. Sometimes science lags a bit behind ...

Yes, I’ve long said that if you can't trust the rigorously tested and surely unbiased observations of heavy weed smokers, what can you trust?
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