Sticker shock coming with California's new pot market

Here it comes just like I predicted. This is just the starting point in California. No doubt the edibles will fall under the California FDB and will have to be manufactured under their licenses and regulations. If the new price is $60 instead of $35 for the same amount of weed, that's a 71% increase with the new tax. Looks like the tax and spend Democrats are going to hammer pot smokers right out of the gate. Everybody knows when taxes go up they rarely if ever come down that goes double when you have a Democrat controlled State like California. I tried to tell you pot smokers this would happen, and this is only the beginning. Look at what they did to cigarettes. I think within 5 to 10 years you'll be wishing Big Gubbement never got involved.

 

I have been smoking since somewhere in college and the price has been the exact same for over a decade, whether I buy it from a dealer, a dispensary, or my new delivery service in Laguna.

The price was always $50 for a high quality 1/8th and it remained that way throughout my dispensary days.

Buying my new house in Laguna came with the realization that "dispensaries" are technically illegal in this city so they require you to have it delivered.

Even the delivery price is still $40-60 per 1/8th depending on the quality of what you buy.

This article seems like it is lying in my "very experienced" personal opinion

 

Add up to 60 percent on to what you currently pay. California is in serious fiscal trouble....and they got a new revenue stream. They'll milk it for all it's worth.

 

We will see and if it happens I will be the first to say so.

But it also simply won't work, I still have friends who "deal" and if need be would just go back to the black market.

 

You just don't seem to understand. Prior to legalization black market pot wasn't on the states radar as the didn't get any revenue from it. Once they start getting revenue from anything, you can expect them to defend that revenue stream vigorously. Example #1: In North Carolina the Dept of Revenue pursued illegal producers of alcohol tooth and nail. The souped up cars they delivered their illegal product are legendary and were the spawning of NASCAR racing. It started during prohibition and continued on through the 1960's. Example #2: Eric Garner.....He was selling loose cigarettes either from a New York non-taxed Native American reservation or crossed state lines and purchased cases of cigarettes that weren't taxed by New York State and could be sold at a profit.

“Every time you see me you try to arrest me,” Garner told Officer Daniel Pantaleo....“I’m tired of it. It stops today.”

Garners intentions were clear. But why such attention to selling untaxed cigarettes? They were losing tax money and it upset their revenue stream, so the Police Dept was called upon to restore the money flow to the state.

You can expect that any state that has legalized pot and is taxing it heavily will now enforce that revenue stream.

 

Only 60? Yall realize the current black market price for an 8th of an oz is 60 bucks right now right? And that's for the stickiest of the icky.

So it'll compete with the high dollar black market, but it won't put you at risk of jail time or getting robbed or ripped off.
Yeah that totally won't work out at all. Totes mcgotes

 

I failed to see his point at first as well, it is wrapped up in a bit of emotion.

He/she is saying that WE WILL SOON see much higher prices based on what is happening.

I personally have paid the exact same price since I started smoking in around 01'. And that is actually even when moving between states for college in both California and Arizona, where it is MUCH more illegal.

The only answer to the OP is, "I guess we will see"

 

I fail to see why anyone in a legal market would not just grow their own.

 

The thing is that the black market is an inflated price. The legal market's costs are much less because you're not paying someone to risk a decade in jail for moving the dope around or growing it.
The legal market can pretty easily absorb a fairly high tax rate and that would put it EVEN in cost with the black market. This still keeps the white market at an advantage because its the same price but one will get you put in prison and the other won't.
You can also buy it from a store instead of being at the whim of a skeevy black market smuggler.

 

I lived in CA and I believe a person can legally grow as much pot as they can as long as it's contained in a 5' x 5' growing space, i.e., just enough for one person or family.

High prices will keep the cartels and drug dealers in business.

Draco lives there, maybe he can tell us more.

 

If it's too expensive, people will just go back to the black market.

Jesus. 60$ an 8th? I pay 50$ a quarter, $100 for over a half.

I'm never leaving Canada.

 

That's for the creme de le creme seriously top of the world stuff. Like the sort of thing you might get from a dispensary in a legal market.
More normal is like 40 to 50 for more normal quality indoor stuff.

There was a hue and a cry about this when colorado started up. I remember the photo used for the article was 45 for an 8th with a 15 dollar huge brownie. That was the daily special the first day of legalization. The article was doomsaying how these high prices were going to tank the market. And we've all of course seen just that happen lol

 

Sacramento is greedy. Taxes and fees are ridiculous. Tires for your car? Disposal fee! New TV? E-waste fee!, registration on my truck next year will be $1000 yr. nice boat? Property’s tax!
41.7 cents per gallon state tax on gasoline. My hunting license this year with upland game bird, state and federal duck stamps came to $101.99 for a resident.

Every time you turn around, Sacramento has their hand in your pocket.

 

What kind of truck do you have? California was hitting me with a registration fee of $365 for a four door Tacoma back in 2008. Moved to Texas and it went down to $58. Moved to NM and it went down to $55 and no smog check.

 

‘17 Silverado 2500HD.

 

It is actually based on the # of plants, not the growing space.

Kinda allowing the looophole of people who grow GIANT 10 feet tall marijuana plants instead of what my friends who grow says makes better pot, smaller plants.

(they say smaller plants because they get more even lighting. However the newer LED lighting system I have heard have fixed this problem)

When I was first starting my "legit" business I was also growing and "whole saling" MJ on the side. This was in 07-08 when it was a "gray market"

Now I am not sure what the changes may have been in laws and in growing tech as I stopped doing so in 09 as my business grew

 

Then you definitely don't want to hear what I pay for the registration on my 2015 XFR-S ....

 

My buddy just bought a new toyhauler trailer. It had to wait for it to be built so he took delivery of it at a dealer in Arizona. He did this because he was trading in his old toyhauler and in Arizona, you don’t pay tax on the trade in value.

 

Go for it

 

$732

 

What do you guys get for your money? NM and TX base their registrations on weight which will relate to the wear and tear on the roads. Illegals don't pay anything in CA and the cops are told to ignore it.

 

I was telling my wife about how high the registrations in CA have jumped to and she said that's just another one of the reasons why she'll never go back. But she did ask me if I ever told you guys the crazy story about the Chinese student. I had completely forgotten about it and with her help I think I can recall enough of the details to blow your mind. Here we go:

Back in the day my wife and I knew a couple and the wife worked for whatever school system is in Bellflower, CA. Over time she told us how they had this one Chinese girl who spoke a dialect of Chinese that very few Chinese people could understand and would have a more difficult time speaking it. So the school district goes on a head hunting mission that involved lawyers, recruiters, the State Dept, etc. They had to fly to China, find someone who could speak that dialect, have that person take them to the region where that dialect is common and then try to find someone who's capable of teaching and was willing to move to America. There were several long trips made by district and state employees and they had a hard time finding someone who was able to be somewhat fluent in English, Chinese and that dialect, someone who the State Dept would approve of, someone China would let go, and someone who was willing to move him/herself and the family to America - of course the school would be footing the bill for all moving costs and expenses for the entire family. While they were still looking what they realized was that they would probably need several teachers who specialized in different fields and this would be required as the girl progressed through the grades. It gets better. When they realized it would be impossible to find a qualified teacher who spoke the required languages they focused on simply hiring anyone who could speak the dialect and regular Chinese and then have other Chinese speaking people in Bellflower teach that person how to be a teacher, and they were sure they were going to need more than one.

The last time I spoke with this woman she said it would probably cost several million dollars to educate this one kid and there was no guarantee the kid would even finish school in the district or even the state.

 

Likely because eventually they will have the same restrictions as legal distilleries.

 

The plus side to the increased costs of buying sacks, is the fact that:

1) The State isn't going to have your ass.

2) You can always find cheaper weed "underground" & simply keep it in the "approved" retailer's packaging.

3) It's still super easy to get medicinal status, thereby allowing you to grow your own.

NothingBurger...

 

Ask Eric Garner about that.

They won't be going after the buyers, but the illicit sellers till you can't get it anywhere BUT the "approved" retailers so they can get their tax vig.

It was, you mean. With the advent of legal recreational use the medicinal thing will disappear soon.