Marijuana America's Number 1 Cash Crop

[dawninthemorning]

I came across a news story that says marijuana is the top cash crop in the U.S, bigger than wheat and corn combined. If we can trust the numbers that have been released, $35 billion is produced annually. They are saying that the $35 billion equates to 10,000 metric tons.

The $35 billion is just going off "retail value" of a pound of pot. Producers cost of a pound is $1,606 and the retail is $2,400. So they are saying the average ounce goes for $150.00. Most people buy in smaller quantities, but I am trying to keep this simple.

Okay, so the argument that we have been hearing about for years is over the legalization of marijuana. I was curious so I looked at this from a business standpoint. Let's just say that pot was legal and they put a 10% sin tax on it (obviously the retail price would end up being higher and the tax would be higher, but again keeping it simple). Per ounce, the government would make 15.00. That would mean metric ton, the government would make $528,960. Let's put this into perspective people, when you do a little math here you will see that the government stands to make $5,289,600,000.

I don't know about you, but I think that this looks promising. Any thoughts? If you are interested in reading the story that I got the numbers from, I found it on AOL newslinks.

dawninthemorning Reviewed by dawninthemorning on 01-08-2007. Marijuana America's Number 1 Cash Crop I came across a news story that says marijuana is the top cash crop in the U.S, bigger than wheat and corn combined. If we can trust the numbers that have been released, $35 billion is produced annually. They are saying that the $35 billion equates to 10,000 metric tons. The $35 billion is just going off "retail value" of a pound of pot. Producers cost of a pound is $1,606 and the retail is $2,400. So they are saying the average ounce goes for $150.00. Most people buy in smaller Rating: 5

[Nocturnal Stoner]

sounds like a lot of weed, i'd have that anyday compared to cornflakes

[medicinal]

Yeah, it's a shame they cant just let it be, The savings in enforcement alone would pay off the national debt in a few years. I think the price of an ounce is more like 400-600 bucks, unless your talkin schwag!

[VaporDaddy]

(obviously the retail price would end up being higher and the tax would be higher, but again keeping it simple).

Just curious why do you think the cost would be higher?

[dawninthemorning]

I could be wrong about it being higher, but I am thinking that the stores and merchants, before they are going to sell it, they are going to look at the profit margin. If people on the street are willing to buy an ounce for $150 and that is with seeds and stems, merchants are going to be able to sell it rolled in smaller quantities and make a larger profit. Also, the cost of raising crops are not going to change so what the crop farmer is goingto be selling it for is not going to change. Now that it is legal it will go through a middleman and that is an extra hand in the pie to get his profit off of it.

That is kind of a rambling answer, but that is my train of thought.

[andruejaysin]

Pot can be grown for next to nothing, the price would fall drastically if it were legal.

[Fengzi]

Yeah, it's a shame they cant just let it be, The savings in enforcement alone would pay off the national debt in a few years. !

Yep, this is why some of the smarter cities (San Francisco, Santa Cruz) out here in Cali have decriminalized it. It's not technically "legal" but is now the lowest priority for law enforcement. Trying to enforce the ridiculous marijuana laws just sucks away too much resources. So now, if a San Francisco cop sees one guy smoking a joint and another jaywalking, he's supposed to go after the jaywalker :jointsmile:

[Markass]

The main reason for wanting to regulate is the amount of marijuana that's on our streets available to children...They're going to sell it as cheap as they possibly can out of the stores to keep dealers from being able to outsell legitimate businesses. And finally, we could go to the store and get a bag of exactly the smoke we want...:stoned: As for the original poster, yes these numbers are very much correct. The report was compiled from government numbers, so the validity is very much so.

[Fengzi]

I actually doubt that the prices would fall much if weed were legalized. In fact, it might go up in some places. The prices in any given area have pretty much already been set and are based on supply, demand, and what the local population can afford. Look at a product like Adobe Photoshop, a full legal copy is something like $600+. For a shitty little cd. Sure, a lot of r&d etc went into it but a lot goes into other software that only costs $50. So why is photoshop so expensive, because that's what people will pay. Once it's been established that people will pay a certain price it's unlikely that they'll go down.

Look at the situation in the cannabis clubs out here in California. This is weed which is being sold legally and which has been grown legally. Not to mention the fact that a huge portion of the domestic crop is grown here. Yet, prices in the cannabis clubs are as much, if not more, than what you'd pay for illegal weed.

If weed has traditionally been sold for $50-60 an 1/8th, it is doubtful that a legal seller would want to sell it for much less. It has already been established that such a price is acceptable. Yes, if the price falls more weed will potentially be sold for potentially greater profit. But that would level off pretty quickly. If the price of weed were to be cut in half the consumption level would need to double or more(given all other factors remain the same) in order to get the same amount of profit. But how many people would really double their consumption simply because the price has fallen? My guess is not too many.

What I could potentially see happening is a leveling off of prices across the country. You probably wouldn't see a situation like we have now where weed in San Francisco costs $60 an 1/8th and weed in Iowa costs $60 a 1/2. There might be some small regional differences to account for distribution costs but that is it. So, while the prices might go down a bit for some people they might go up for others.

Question for folks who've been to Amsterdam: What are the prices like there?

[daima]

Yep, this is why some of the smarter cities (San Francisco, Santa Cruz) out here in Cali have decriminalized it. It's not technically "legal" but is now the lowest priority for law enforcement. Trying to enforce the ridiculous marijuana laws just sucks away too much resources. So now, if a San Francisco cop sees one guy smoking a joint and another jaywalking, he's supposed to go after the jaywalker :jointsmile:

right you are
i'd rather face down a joint than a two ton car bearing down on me anytime.
I'm glad our local politicians feel the same.
Cars kill
I was at "medical marijuana week" here in San Francisco and we had an escort of police making sure we didnt get hit by cars as we marched down Market Street when the sgt. says " i should of brought my bong", while people were asking him for a light to light their joints with.
I decided to ask this officer to have his picture taken with me when three other officers asked if they could be in the photo also.
We then ended up in Golden Gate Park to symbolically plant 215,000 seeds in thanks of prop 215, which made cannabis legal in cali for medical purposes.
I have great photos of Ed Rosenthal(ask ed) and i with rakes, hoes(the garden kind), planting seeds. We had a whole burlap sacks of seeds we were handing out to anyone that wanted them.
I then proceeded to get Wavey Gravey all fucked up on a indica strain that i had harvested earlier.
You should really checkout San Francisco's medical marijuana week. Its a week long of cannabis related festivities and well recieved by the public.
San Francisco is just a truely outtasight place to live.
Hopefully ya'll from the southbay will make it up to the next "may day", here in the city.

dai*ma:stoned: sfca 94110