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What do you do with a billion grams of surplus weed?

thewalrus.ca

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Re: What do you do with a billion grams of surplus weed?

#161

Post by freshpots »

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #148
dylan604 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love when the inexperienced stand up like an expert. There's a huge difference between having a plant that is alive and a plant that is producing quality flower of enough quantity to make a difference. There is much better info on the web a simple search will show you compared to me describing to someone that already thinks it's super easy.

It's not called weed because it's hard to grow. If you're not a weed snob and just trying to save a few bucks anything that the plant makes will be fine.

Try growing a cannabis plant indoors without a pH probe when supplemental nutrients are needed and get back to me. Outdoors is another story but indoor growing has a significant learning curve.

Re: What do you do with a billion grams of surplus weed?

#162

Post by freshpots »

k12sosse wrote: post #75
KMnO4 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When it was legalized in Canada, the legal prices were pretty bad. There were also restrictions on only allowing the sale of flower (ie no edibles or concentrates IIRC). Since then, the government has pulled up their socks. The prices are competitive, the quality is fantastic, and the doses are accurate (as opposed to a “300mg edible” actually having anywhere from 50-500mg THC). As a result, I don’t know anyone who d…

I've been kicking this idea around in my noodle since judgement Day passed: a business like a local wine u-brew, where you come rent a stall in my warehouse and we grow your weed for you, in your name. When it's time to harvest, you can either take it home damp and dry it yourself or pay for us to cure it for you. Secure, safe, convenient. I can currently easily grow a (reasonable) year's supply for someone within th…

It was formerly called AMCPR. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-medica...

Re: What do you do with a billion grams of surplus weed?

#163

Post by latchkey »

smabie wrote: post #154
latchkey wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a culture, we over produce, under consume and just throw the rest away. Ever looked into the dumpsters behind super markets? I may have known a grower who would always struggle with the seasons. Indoor growing is year round, but the outdoor stuff is what everyone wants. So every time the outdoor harvests would happen, it was nearly impossible to sell the indoor stuff. So now you combine massive indoor with massive…

People want outdoor weed? I think most people prefer indoor as it's stronger and of higher quality.

That whole hippy sun / nature plant thing appeals to people.

Less sarcastically, there is two types of indoor. Hydro and soil. The hydro based is only grown in water and fertilizer and as a result, has a more chemical taste to it. Since both are fed very specific spectrum lights and even airflow (added co2 is common), they also develop their own characteristics.

Outdoor brings people back to that natural feeling. Of course there is different outdoors too... like container based or just allowed to grow like a tree. Elevation, climate, water, bugs, etc... all play a role.

At this point, strength is all relative... it has been enough years of professional growth that the strains are all super strong and bred for very specific highs.

The botany of weed is fascinating. It grows like a weed, but it is a super complex plant in the things that it requires to grow well.

Re: What do you do with a billion grams of surplus weed?

#164

Post by ohyeshedid »

josefresco wrote: post #139
tenfourwookie wrote: post #134

We've been hearing about surplus for several years now, and yet the price of weed is going up, not down. I regularly see $400 retail ounces in Oregon for top shelf. Supply/demand should push the price to the floor with this Surplus gargantus, and yet prices continue to climb. It's like ECON 101 doesn't apply to pot. What are they going to do? Dump it in ocean? What I want to know is how retail is maintaining these ob…

> Collusion It's either straight up illegal collusion or a "natural" side effect of allowing only "big business" to enter the market. Combined with sky high taxes and "community impact" fees and there's not much room for price differentiation,. I live in a state that is just now seeing recreational shops open and miraculously all their pricing is exactly aligned.

Collusion doesn't need to happen at the point of sale, it could be wholesalers or the growers setting a price structure.

Re: What do you do with a billion grams of surplus weed?

#165

Post by throwaway672000 »

patmcc wrote: post #128
bdjddd77 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's fucking nuts, 40, looking 50, got IDs buying a pack of beers in Walgreens I think, just stopping two night usa back to Europe. She wasn't happy that she couldn't scan the EU driving license but eventually she relented, same next night, I was perplexed, do they not enpower their workers? Uk is over 18, but ask for id if you have any doubt less than 21, 3yr margin, common sense

>>>Uk is over 18, but ask for id if you have any doubt less than 21, 3yr margin, common sense People are much worse at estimating ages then they think. If the policy is "ID anyone that looks <21" many 16/17 year olds will look 23 and not get asked. I worked for a chain of liquor stores that had an "ID 25 and under" policy - and to check it, they would send in 25 year olds. Lots of time staff would fail those checks.…

>to check it, they would send in 25 year olds

Well, not sure if typo, but the margin of error is the point surely? It's fine that 23 year olds who look 26 slip through as long as 17 year olds who look 23 don't. Otherwise the store is effectively saying "we expect your judgement to be up to 7 years too high and account for that" but also "you're in trouble if your judgement is 1 year too high"

Re: What do you do with a billion grams of surplus weed?

#166

Post by xyhopguy »

tenfourwookie wrote: post #159
iaw wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I regularly see $400 retail ounces in Oregon for top shelf. I think because this article refers to Canada, not the US, we can't infer things about the market in the US due to the low likelihood of smuggling occurring. What has the quality and the cost of 'low-grade' weed done? I suspect the quality of the bottom shelf has increased drastically at the same cost.

Yes, but the same is true in Oregon. Massive surplus. It was some silly number like enough weed to make 1 billion joints. I'll find the number.

its not hard to get top shelf ounces for $100-140 in oregon...

Re: What do you do with a billion grams of surplus weed?

#167

Post by kriskrunch »

tenfourwookie wrote: post #134

We've been hearing about surplus for several years now, and yet the price of weed is going up, not down. I regularly see $400 retail ounces in Oregon for top shelf. Supply/demand should push the price to the floor with this Surplus gargantus, and yet prices continue to climb. It's like ECON 101 doesn't apply to pot. What are they going to do? Dump it in ocean? What I want to know is how retail is maintaining these ob…

Several reasons prices stay high:

The dispensaries are limited regionally by law, so it's not truly a free market.

There are often taxes on the weed as well. Gray and black market prices are significantly cheaper.

A lot of the excess stuff is sold to regions where it's still illegal, although those hold outs are dwindling.

Production cost per pound is expensive, and going up across the board: labor, electricity, water, commercial leases, equipment, fertilizers, and grow media.

Top shelf is mostly grown indoors under artificial lights instead of in greenhouses.

Further, the farmer's and dispensary's regulations are complex and daunting.

Grow your own if you want it cheap. You'll quickly learn how challenging it is to produce top shelf.

I'm in the States, but much of this applies to Canada as well.

Re: What do you do with a billion grams of surplus weed?

#168

Post by rstuart4133 »

WhyNotHugo wrote: post #16
staticassertion wrote: post #7

Weed being legal is cool (and a huge deal and way overdue) but, until I moved to SF, I still bought from a dealer. It was cheaper and I got really high quality stuff, got to give feedback to the guy on the strains, chocolates, etc. Plus my guy would smoke me up for free a good amount of the time and we'd just chill and chat for a bit. Legal weed is wayyyy more expensive in my experience and I dislike the experience.…

Here in the Netherlands tax for weed is really high. 50% if I recall correctly. Not sure I hate the idea -- at least tax money is put to very good use. But for those for whom it's more than merely recreational (e.g.: medicinal use), I wish they'd sell a tax-free version. Too prone to abuse I guess. However, heading to a coffeshop[1] isn't a big deal. It's a person behind the stand, you pic what you want from a menu,…

To put that 50% into perspective. Approx price of tobacco per kilogram: USD$2 [0]. Australian excise on tobacco per kilogram: USD$1000 [1].

[0] https://staragritech.com/crop-report/

[1] https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Excise-on-tobacco/Excise-obl...

Re: What do you do with a billion grams of surplus weed?

#169

Post by tenfourwookie »

ohyeshedid wrote: post #164
josefresco wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Collusion It's either straight up illegal collusion or a "natural" side effect of allowing only "big business" to enter the market. Combined with sky high taxes and "community impact" fees and there's not much room for price differentiation,. I live in a state that is just now seeing recreational shops open and miraculously all their pricing is exactly aligned.

Collusion doesn't need to happen at the point of sale, it could be wholesalers or the growers setting a price structure.

Sure, up and down the chain, but with that much surplus? That would be irrational. I don't understand. Do you mean it's like farmers dumping millions of gallons of milk to quash supply and support price x? To what end? They're worried if they flood the market, price drops? (To say nothing of legality, because I know nothing.)
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