Low Pot Prices Create Panic; We Should All Have Such Problems...
source: http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2010/05/low_pot_prices_create_panic_we_should_all_have_suc.php
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- Omnomynous
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Marijuana cultivation -- of the illegal variety -- has been the economic lifeblood of three counties -- Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity -- in Northern California, known as the Emerald Triangle. The War On Drugs and frequent raids by federal agents have helpfully kept street prices of pot sky-high and profits large for renegade farmers.
But greater supply, more competition, and especially the prospect of legalized marijuana -- with the issue enjoying majority support and slated to appear on November's ballot in California -- is exerting downward pressure on pot prices, reports Michael Montgomery at NPR.
The Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), a massive air and ground assault launched by the Reagan Administration in 1983, with the goal of "eradicating" pot and arresting growers in the Emerald Triangle area, was a big factor in causing wholesale pot prices to shoot to as high as $5,000 a pound. The sudden windfall for growers willing to risk prison time changed the mellow pot-growing culture forever.
But that boom, which has enriched not just ganja growers but also countless ancillary businesses like garden supply stores, banks and vehicle dealerships -- along with just about every restaurant, mini-mart, and other business in the area -- may be about to end.
"The most successful government price support program in history is finally failing," said Charley Custer, a writer and community activist who arrived in Humboldt County from Chicago just before CAMP was launched. "The price of pot is plummeting."
"A lot of people were living on welfare and peanut butter and banana sandwiches for a long time before pot made it possible to be part of the middle class," Custer said.
"Outdoor growers are having a hard time unloading their fall harvest," Custer said. "And this is six months later and when some people do move it, they don't get nearly the price they were hoping for."
But greater supply, more competition, and especially the prospect of legalized marijuana -- with the issue enjoying majority support and slated to appear on November's ballot in California -- is exerting downward pressure on pot prices, reports Michael Montgomery at NPR.
The Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), a massive air and ground assault launched by the Reagan Administration in 1983, with the goal of "eradicating" pot and arresting growers in the Emerald Triangle area, was a big factor in causing wholesale pot prices to shoot to as high as $5,000 a pound. The sudden windfall for growers willing to risk prison time changed the mellow pot-growing culture forever.
But that boom, which has enriched not just ganja growers but also countless ancillary businesses like garden supply stores, banks and vehicle dealerships -- along with just about every restaurant, mini-mart, and other business in the area -- may be about to end.
"The most successful government price support program in history is finally failing," said Charley Custer, a writer and community activist who arrived in Humboldt County from Chicago just before CAMP was launched. "The price of pot is plummeting."
"A lot of people were living on welfare and peanut butter and banana sandwiches for a long time before pot made it possible to be part of the middle class," Custer said.
"Outdoor growers are having a hard time unloading their fall harvest," Custer said. "And this is six months later and when some people do move it, they don't get nearly the price they were hoping for."
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- groups:
- H.E.M.P.
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- tags:
- Deflation, Cheaper Weed
