It's been a couple of weeks since Canada decriminalized recreational cannabis use. So far I've seen no sign of any impact.
I spoke to a friend, a very long-time cannabis user. He's not liking the change. It's taken away the "forbidden fruit" aspect that he didn't know he sort of enjoyed until it was gone. No more need for a "stash."
Then I went online to see how the government of BC is getting along with the new reality. It seems they're behind the curve, with just one licensed store now open for business and that in Kimberley of all places.
I did get a chuckle out of this line on the government's pot website:
We are particularly focused on securing suitable locations within the Vancouver and Vancouver Island areas in an effort to cater to the province’s most discerning markets."Most discerning market" status. Well that's something, I suppose. Not exactly sure what but it must be something. Maybe that delineates the southwest corner of the province as the Land of Stoners. Might be worth a movie treatment.
Back on the 17th I did find the government weed website and I thought about ordering something. The problem was too much choice. All different prices, all different qualities. I thought I would do well to consult some of my more knowledgeable friends and, until today, the whole thing just slipped my mind.
I think my friend was right. Now that it's legal it's sort of boring. The federal government as our pot killjoy.
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It looks like governments are trying to get the little mom & pop outlets out of the business to make way for pharmaceuticals and other corporate giants. I wonder if there's something in that recent free trade deal about this.
Thanks for the link, Dana. That was one of the best skits I ever saw on 22 Minutes.
Toby, I've been kicking around the idea of a "home grow shed," along the lines of a garden shed but designed for growing your own pot. It would involve a variety of features to make the process as automated as possible. Construct the kit in your backyard. Have it hooked up to the house power, set the dials and buttons, and pop in every day or two to see how it's going.
The "good pot" is cloned, so you need a grower to provide you with baby plants.
You are allowed 4 plants, but you need the whole assembly, including a drying shed.
You will have to disclose to your insurer, and if you go to sell, which may have negative consequences.
So far, the only "reefer madness" is shortages left, right and center.
Nope.
Nobody was ready. Not the growers, not the Governments, not the Mom and Pop's, not even the Corporations.
Vancouver, didn't even get their bylaws inplace until mid June,
It takes more than a 3 month lead time to get a whole new retail industry up and running.
The interesting part is that some dispensaries that have been open for years in Victoria are still operating, others are not. None have been "blessed" by the government but do have local licences. The whole implementation thing was a farce. All people (government officials) had to do was look at the SW BC model and do it around the country. Could not do that as they were so wrapped up in the evil to come thing. Nothing has changed, just more dumb bureaucracy.
That's why, Jay, I was looking at a backyard, "stand alone" shed idea. Keep the heat and humidity issues contained outside the house.
I know a couple of guys who've been in the industry and they think it could be viable if it was thought through and well sourced.
My thinking was that, for these two guys, selling the equipment and setting it up for homeowners, could be a lucrative option. Pour a concrete pad, run power from the house, construct and equip the shed, and go from there.
Lay on, MacDuff. You're absolutely right. There is a SW BC model that could have served the province. A guy I know grows for the medical cannabis market. It's not a Big Pharma grade operation (although I've never even seen it) but I think the indies will be run out of the business.
Strange times.
Not sure if there is much of a niche market for mini-pot growhouses.
Aside from medical users, ( that's a doctor problem), I don't know many/any people who decided in October to start using pot, now that it's legal.
I suspect that the small farmer's will stay in business, as long as they want to stay in business. They already have a clientel, quality product, boutique product.
Big Corporate Pot is going to be volume and crappy products, just like the Fed's stuff was.
Like the micro-breweries issue, it's probably going to be more about small farmers selling out, rather than not being able to compete.
.. many many of my friends are heavy tokers.. have been since I've known them. One however, lost a lung to mesotheliomia some 5 years ago. He then perfected making 'butter' from pot, from maryjane supplied by one or many more of his 'associates' - He won't put smoke in his one remaining lung. He will 'vape' however. But its interesting what desserts or foods or treats he manages to make, aside from the obvious - cookies, brownies etc. He has it down to a science of recipes and exactly how many bites 'to craft' or manage his 'buzz' haha..
I still get an incredible hoot out of the Toronto police officers who consumed some of the 'evidence' from a bust this year.. and on not getting a buzz, ate some more.. then some more ! Later, one ended up in a tree.. 'officer in duress' ! Believed wolves or bears or demons would devour him or her.. The other ran off somewhere.. abandoning the cruiser - Assailed by ? ? Surely they are now 'legend' in the force..
So look into the options for homegrown Mound.. beware of mite infestations.. will wipe out your 'crop' .. and look into the art of 'curing' .. managing 'the shake' - as that can be converted into the finest hashish I hear.. from another bud of mine who is licenced & grandfathered in.. to grow his own medical use plus supply one other.. He goes with hydroponic. Myself, I will have a tiny puff or two here n there, like mebbe once a month, if that.. but much prefer a hoppy craft beer or sharing a fine Zinfandel from Washington State with my lovely fiancee & some PEI Malpeque oysters by the dozen
I'm 8th degree advanced expert re legal and non legal drug use.. took a PhD cum laude from Hillcrest maximum security Training School, Masters Degree dean's list out of Stonehenge Drug Rehabilitation Centre, Gothic House was where I received final education on how illegal pot makes its way into places where its frowned upon by the 'authorities'. And many a parent of my son's peer group, rued the day they tried to tell me their precious child was not toking, drinking, dealing or looking lustily at their female classmates .. Times have changed, Mound.. that astonishing underground economy of British Columbia is going legal ? I always knew it to be bigger than lumber or energy or the wild fisheries ..
Sal, I'm under no delusions. I couldn't grow agave in the Sonora. Plants and I have failed to bond. No patience for it and I understand that growing weed is especially difficult. What I was looking for is a set up that a superior home horticulturalist could use to produce a modest yield. It was to market a range of home "weed shacks." My enquiries have led me to a range of tent systems on the market designed to be set up in a basement or spare bedroom but that of course invites all the heat and humidity problems associated with grow-ops.
With at least one red herring out of the way, maybe they can try to get a few more out of the way as well so as to be able to move on and start focusing on solving or dealing with more substantial and pressing issues, taking care of things that actually really matter.
In 2014, Police charged someone with criminal posession of pot every 9 minutes, 58,400 people a year, and where you lived, your age and what colour your skin was, had a huge impact on how the Police and Justice system treated you, or if they bothered to get involved at all.
Older, white, male, West Vancouver, nada.
Indigenous, any age, Down Town East Side, criminal charges, jail time or significant fine.
POC, Toronto, any age, criminal charges, jail time or significant fine.
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