Trying to corner the market on legal marijuana • Hacker News Board

Re: Trying to corner the market on legal marijuana

#21

Post by koolba » Mon, Aug 28, 2017, 2:34 AM UTC

grecy wrote: post #17

drewmol wrote: post #11

I once had an economics professor who insisted the bigger hurdle to marijuana legalization was monetizing it. It's a quite unique cash crop in that it only takes a small area and small amout of labor to produce large supply. His words, paraphrased: "You can grow enough marijuana in your basement to meet the demands of your whole neighborhood! And it's a difficult thing to patent to use IP ownership as a revenue model…

It's also extremely simple to produce enough alcohol for your entire neighborhood in your basement with a home-made still. That has not stopped the monetization of alcohol... People who want to make billions from this will simply lobby until there are extremely strict laws in place to protect their profits, and then also lobby to make sure there are wars and extremely strict punishments for violators of those laws.

Distilling liquor is significantly more dangerous than growing a plant.

Re: Trying to corner the market on legal marijuana

#22

Post by drewmol » Mon, Aug 28, 2017, 2:45 AM UTC

toufka wrote: post #12

drewmol wrote: post #11

I once had an economics professor who insisted the bigger hurdle to marijuana legalization was monetizing it. It's a quite unique cash crop in that it only takes a small area and small amout of labor to produce large supply. His words, paraphrased: "You can grow enough marijuana in your basement to meet the demands of your whole neighborhood! And it's a difficult thing to patent to use IP ownership as a revenue model…

Similar to tobacco - which has a bunch of regulations associated with growing it for sale.

Similar, however the space requirement to produce enough tobacco to satisfy the demand of a typical cigarette/cigar smoker is drastically larger than for marijuana.

Re: Trying to corner the market on legal marijuana

#23

Post by drewmol » Mon, Aug 28, 2017, 2:52 AM UTC

koolba wrote: post #21

grecy wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also extremely simple to produce enough alcohol for your entire neighborhood in your basement with a home-made still. That has not stopped the monetization of alcohol... People who want to make billions from this will simply lobby until there are extremely strict laws in place to protect their profits, and then also lobby to make sure there are wars and extremely strict punishments for violators of those laws.

Distilling liquor is significantly more dangerous than growing a plant.

Also, it's much more labor and processing time intensive. It's not true that alcohol demand can be satifsfied in anywhere near similar space and labor requirements that marijuana demand can be.

Re: Trying to corner the market on legal marijuana

#24

Post by mnm1 » Mon, Aug 28, 2017, 2:59 AM UTC

This is absurd. If these patents are ever enforced, I hope the cannabis industry doesn't stop until they've destroyed this company, the people who run it, and anyone who associates with them. In a court of law or otherwise.

Re: Trying to corner the market on legal marijuana

#25

Post by perpetualcrayon » Mon, Aug 28, 2017, 3:10 AM UTC

What is the current state of Case Law with regard to DNA in the US? And how, if at all, would this carry over to the genetics of plants?

How much of a natural product is it safe to say is patentable? And how much of the patent has to depend on things like "processes of manufacturing", etc?

Re: Trying to corner the market on legal marijuana

#26

Post by rangibaby » Mon, Aug 28, 2017, 3:11 AM UTC

grecy wrote: post #17

drewmol wrote: post #11

I once had an economics professor who insisted the bigger hurdle to marijuana legalization was monetizing it. It's a quite unique cash crop in that it only takes a small area and small amout of labor to produce large supply. His words, paraphrased: "You can grow enough marijuana in your basement to meet the demands of your whole neighborhood! And it's a difficult thing to patent to use IP ownership as a revenue model…

It's also extremely simple to produce enough alcohol for your entire neighborhood in your basement with a home-made still. That has not stopped the monetization of alcohol... People who want to make billions from this will simply lobby until there are extremely strict laws in place to protect their profits, and then also lobby to make sure there are wars and extremely strict punishments for violators of those laws.

Even the easiest homebrewing requires more knowledge and skill than dumping some seeds in your garden, which is literally all you need to do to get an acceptable crop of weed

Re: Trying to corner the market on legal marijuana

#27

Post by candiodari » Mon, Aug 28, 2017, 3:22 AM UTC

drewmol wrote: post #23

koolba wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Distilling liquor is significantly more dangerous than growing a plant.

Also, it's much more labor and processing time intensive. It's not true that alcohol demand can be satifsfied in anywhere near similar space and labor requirements that marijuana demand can be.

Plus there's the risk factor. If you fuck up distillation of alcohol, even slightly, people may die.

You get the temperature control on your distillation wrong by 3 degrees, people will get sick from drinking it. 5 degrees, and it may kill kids who happen to get a hold of it, and starting at about 8 degrees it gets to the point where 2-3 glasses of your homebrew whiskey will kill a full blown adult.

Re: Trying to corner the market on legal marijuana

#28

Post by grecy » Mon, Aug 28, 2017, 3:27 AM UTC

candiodari wrote: post #27

drewmol wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, it's much more labor and processing time intensive. It's not true that alcohol demand can be satifsfied in anywhere near similar space and labor requirements that marijuana demand can be.

Plus there's the risk factor. If you fuck up distillation of alcohol, even slightly, people may die. You get the temperature control on your distillation wrong by 3 degrees, people will get sick from drinking it. 5 degrees, and it may kill kids who happen to get a hold of it, and starting at about 8 degrees it gets to the point where 2-3 glasses of your homebrew whiskey will kill a full blown adult.

My experiences of home brewed stuff from all over Latin America and West Africa disagree with your theory.

Drink it, you'll be fine!

Re: Trying to corner the market on legal marijuana

#29

Post by igichdyfhc » Mon, Aug 28, 2017, 3:33 AM UTC

Its amazing that we at all allow the possibility of a field brimming with promise, that resulted in so much oppression to poor minorites, to be suddenly, just as the moment turned towards freedom, captured and terms dictated by a small group of rich people when others have bled, been deprived of their freedom, and were there first.

Re: Trying to corner the market on legal marijuana

#30

Post by jasonlaramburu » Mon, Aug 28, 2017, 3:41 AM UTC

DoctorNick wrote: post #18

jasonlaramburu wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Myrcene is the dominant terpene in all strains of cannabis according to this study: http://www.internationalhempassociation.org/jiha/jiha4208.ht... Cannabis has been cultivated and sold illegally in the US for almost a century. It seems unlikely that the USPTO would be able to enforce compliance when law enforcement has not.

Unfortunately, this study is from 1997 and is out of date. This study from 2011 suggests that at least some strains do not have Myrcene as the dominant terpene: https://www.fundacion-canna.es/en/variations-terpene-profile...

That's interesting. The strains with lower Myrcene are all Sativa. Myrcene is thought to cause the 'couch-lock' feeling common in Indicas.