Live data from Hacker News

How the marijuana ‘green rush’ fell apart

washingtonpost.com

171–180 of 231 posts

Re: How the marijuana ‘green rush’ fell apart

#171

The cannabis boom seems to have been predicated largely on the assumption that it would resemble the high-end wine market, with expensive vintages, "budtenders", etc that can support lots of boutique farms and retailers. But it looks more like the future will resemble the tobacco industry, with slim profit margins and a handful of conglomerates controlling production. And in reality, for wine as well, LVMH owns many…

[dead]

Re: How the marijuana ‘green rush’ fell apart

#173
post #13
post #3

I spent about 4 years actively growing weed before it was "legal." in San Francisco. Because mine was indoor/soil/organic and didn't require driving up to Ukiah or waiting for the outdoor harvests, I got the same premium rates for it that are noted in the article. As soon as I realized that weed was eventually going legal, I stopped entirely because I could see the writing on the wall. It was becoming commoditized to…

In Michigan now that its legal the prices have plummeted. I just saw a place advertising $100 for 2 full ounces for new recreation customers. Thats an insane deal. I'm sure its not the best stuff but its a shocking amount.

In Illinois the opposite has happened. Been legal for going on 3 years now and an mid quality ounce goes for $300-400 minimum. 1 gram carts retail for $60 plus taxes bringing it to an easy 80. I just drive to Michigan now since the prices there are 4x lower, but the black market is doing quite well here since the number of smokers has increased and prices are half for similar quality flower.

Re: How the marijuana ‘green rush’ fell apart

#174
post #137
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I personally have never even been able to detect a real difference between sativa and indica, let alone individual strains This is interesting to hear because I have the opposite experience. I used to have really bad anxiety and weed was (and still can be) a trigger for it. I took a few years off weed and only starting trying it again since legalization in Canada (and now Thailand). I have definitely noticed that I…

It's a great point that the cannabinoid ratio has a dramatic effect on the high. Ever since high CBD:THC oils became available in cartridge form, I personally switched ratios in the 15-25:1 range. This is like 2% THC, but likewise I find I get all the benefits of smoking "regular" weed or high potency carts without feeling uncomfortably high or anxious at any point. You can "sip" it. I think finding your preference a…

I haven't ventured much into the high CBD territory yet. I'm going to see what I can find when I am back in Thailand in March but might have to wait to be back in Canada as Thailand medicinal is still very early days.

Re: How the marijuana ‘green rush’ fell apart

#175
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean $100 for 2 ounces of the marijuana plant in particular isn't cheap at all. There are some 'mild' complications in growing it, but in theory it should end up more like a bulk farming product where we talk about dollars per pound on the retail side, and dollars per ton on the wholesale side.

>I mean $100 for 2 ounces of the marijuana plant in particular isn't cheap at all. Where are prices so low that $100 for 2 ounces "isn't cheap at all"?

Canada ;)

Re: How the marijuana ‘green rush’ fell apart

#176
post #11

I live on the Oregon/California border, where a lot of growers spilled over from Humboldt County and elsewhere. I've seen a few ups and downs in the market, but nothing like what happened over the last two years. There was a moment in 2020 when more acres of weed were being grown than alfalfa . Neighbors were signing multi-year contracts to rent out their water rights. And oh, all of the terrible behavior that the ru…

As long as regulation and taxes are a dominant cost in the weed industry it will remain volatile. Some state is gonna come along and tax it slightly less than Oklahoma and everyone will go there. Wash, rinse repeat among the 30-something states that are sufficiently arable for weed until the taxation is a low enough fraction of the overall cost that other factors (water cost, growing season, etc) dominate.

Re: How the marijuana ‘green rush’ fell apart

#177
post #11

I live on the Oregon/California border, where a lot of growers spilled over from Humboldt County and elsewhere. I've seen a few ups and downs in the market, but nothing like what happened over the last two years. There was a moment in 2020 when more acres of weed were being grown than alfalfa . Neighbors were signing multi-year contracts to rent out their water rights. And oh, all of the terrible behavior that the ru…

I grew up in Ashland (visiting there right now, in fact) and have family who funded one of the first marijuana companies in the state. Some problems were bad behavior from legal growers, but I'd argue the bigger problems were caused by regulatory and oversight failures from OLCC and enforcement of existing laws on illegal grow operations. 1) OLCC allowed for way too many grow license at first. For a state of 4.3 mill…

>you have a serious upper bound to how much the legal market can support.

Demand is very much elastic in response to price.

Re: How the marijuana ‘green rush’ fell apart

#178

Can someone please explain the CBD market? I’m in Paris right now and it seems like every block has a high end (looking) CBD shop. How are these rents being covered? Who is buying? I have to believe that most people still want THC.

CBD has pretty awesome properties. For me, it kills or controls migraines very quickly.

I also use it when I get dental procedures, because it's not intoxicating like Ativan or similar.

Re: How the marijuana ‘green rush’ fell apart

#179
post #167
post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

these are full time farmers, they aren't sitting around at home with 2 phones waiting for teenagers to pay retail price between fortnite matches. Instead they sold bulk on average for $660 / LB this last year, so ~ $250-330 per outdoor plant. MOST of that average is indoor high grade, so this can be seen as a ceiling on outdoor plant economics. So your napkin math that "you can get a lot more than $500 off a single p…

I had a legal grow in Northern California for almost 10 years. You can get a lot more than $500 per plant, even at $500 per pound. I've seen guys with 10'x10'x4' raised beds for each plant. They start them indoors or in the greenhouse so they're already several feet tall when they're transplanted outdoors at the beginning of spring. One friend in particular consistently harvested over 5 lbs per plant this way. So did…

Yeah ten pounders are not that hard to achieve, just veg all winter and plant in a yard of in a huge hole dug by a backhoe. Important too to use strain that rocks up at the end.

Re: How the marijuana ‘green rush’ fell apart

#180
One of the things I've noticed living in both CA and MA is that a lot of retail marijuana shops appear to be run by first-time business owners. In many cases, these businesses just don't appear to have the kind of discipline to be sustainable. They have weird marketing, oddball names, and unprofessional customer service.

I once went to a cannibas "church" in San Jose, CA, where they told me I could smoke up in their parking lot, directly in view of a residential neighborhood. Another time I called a dispensary to verify that they were open, and a super-stoned person answered the phone and immediately went into a monologue about how to get to the store.

I've never been to a liquor store where the help is visibly drunk or encourages drinking on their property.

Post reply on HN