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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_marijuana_legalization

In part...
"Pot prices could drop from $375 an ounce under the state's current medical marijuana law to as little as $38 per ounce before taxes as legal pot suddenly becomes available to the public, RAND researhers (sic) concluded."

"The California Board of Equalization studied the financial impacts of pot while evaluating a bill introduced in the Legislature last year that would have taxed and regulated marijuana like alcohol. Sales taxes and a $50 per ounce excise tax on commercial pot sales would generate $1.4 billion for the state, according to that study."

':shock:' $50 per ounce excise tax? Pass me some of that gear they are smoking. ':lol:' The story also suggests that local (counties) could assess a similar tax, sending the price of commercial weed to over $100 per ounce. Better than current prices, but when you can grow it yourself for next to nothing... read on.


"But that estimate could prove overly optimistic, depending on how pot users and sellers respond to the idea of paying hefty taxes on a weed that can be grown at home, the RAND anaylsis said."

':lol:' I have known this since the first time I fantasized about a world in which weed was legal. There definitely is a market for commercial weed, but if the local and state governments get too ridiculous with taxes, it's back to the black market for some. I liken this to beer or wine - we can make our own, although typically the results come up short, especially when compared to what's available commercially. Even though growing weed can be as basic as planting a seed in the ground and watching it grow, not everybody is going to be able to grow connoisseur-level gear.

Something that I have read little about is what the estimates are for Hashish. Hash will definitely be a money maker since it's not easy to make. I have never known Americans to be big Hash smokers though, but who knows.

My theory is that when weed is legalized, there will be a market for commercial gear because the typical American can't or won't be bothered with growing their own. I think given a choice between buying gear from a local dealer vs. guaranteed quality commercial, I think most would go the commercial route.

Other means of revenue will be realized from the increased sale of growing supplies, not to mention the increase in water and electricity usage. Given the fact that California experiences water shortages, growers could be in a bind if water is rationed. Can anyone say Culligans? '' Time to think about opening a franchise, especially in high-density suburbs. All those Finkelstein shit kids (Cheech and Chong) who think they can achieve instant karma by growing their own will be ripe for the picking. ':shock:' ':o' ':lol:'

If the prices do drop, then other unrelated areas of the economy will see benefits too as smokers will have more money to spend elsewhere.

I share your opinion Puffin, I would of course let some plants grow on my balcony/garden, but I would only do it for fun.
Most of the gear would still be sold.

If they legalise the prices may drop initially but I'd expect the prices to go through the roof especially as more people will want the elite genetics.

crude oil is legal & we still get mugged every time we fill up

I think that the prices will drop, as the report suggested, but I don't think they will rebound anywhere near to what they are now. The market will be flooded with weed, and hash once it catches on. I do agree with Boner about prices for elite genetics, same as is currently in The Netherlands. Come to think of it, won't be much of a difference than it is now - we always pay more for higher quality gear.

I don't think that the prices will go through the roof mainly because they already have, happened a long time ago. Paying between $300-$500 an ounce is ridiculous, especially when compared to what the asking price was less than 30 years ago, $40. What has changed in the past 30 years to justify an increase of nearly 1500 Percent? Weed is just as illegal now as it was back then, Federally speaking. Grows the same as it did back then although there wasn't the market for indoor growing like there is now. Some would argue better genetics is part of the reason, to which I say bullshit as well. Backdoor chemists are not responsible for the increase in prices. How is that even possible, except commercially in The Netherlands?

No friends, the reason for such ridiculous prices is us, mainly because we pay them. I mentioned this in a thread about Soap Bar Hash in the UK, along with a bit of advice - if you wait them out, they will either drop their prices or go out of business, most likely the latter. A response was that these rip-off dealers do it part time, so they really won't be hurt. Different story with weed mainly because the gear will dry out and turn to powder. And yeah, sure, dealers could properly store their merchandise to hold longer, but we are talking about street-level dealers who typically don't know their heads from their asses.
We all profess that weed isn't addictive, so what's the big deal to stop smoking until the prices go down? I can just hear the whining of millions of smokers, giving every excuse in the book and a few new ones as well, but mainly 'because I don't want to.'
My fellow smokers, how long do any of you think it will take for prices to drop if people stop buying? Remember, cannabis has a relatively short shelf life, 60 days give or take. This is dependent on factors including the length of the curing process (how dry the gear was before packaging), and how the gear is stored. In order to achieve a longer shelf life, weed needs to be stored in a climate-controlled environment. Their (distributors/dealers) problem will be in figuring out where to store hundreds if not thousands of Kilos of weed? If we all stopped "buying" weed for a period of three months, the weed market would collapse. Distributors/dealers would be so desperate to move their merchandise that a price war would ensue. Not much different than our market-based economy. Demand drives prices.

Fuck the dealer, plant a seed.