Today, brothers and sisters of the Juice, we’re going to talk about the cannabis biz, aka the “cannabiz.” (And yes, www.canna.biz is taken; don’t even bother. I looked it up.)
Since our demographics do skew somewhat old — the median age of our readers is approximately 76 — there are developments in the burgeoning world of legalized marijuana of which some might not be aware. As an advocate of marijuana legalization, I recognize that they’re things I have to contend with — and I’m willing to have that conversation. Here’s one you may not have heard: the market for legal marijuana for us oldsters (meaning above 35 or so) is sadly unfulfilled. (I’m going to quote five whole paragraphs, because one is mostly riffing on a Louis C.K. routine, which people my age consider to be holy writ.)
Clearly, there’s a market segment out there that isn’t being catered to by the dope industry. And these relatively affluent customers want something more like a glass of wine at the end of the day than the effect summarized by one recent review of the guava dawg strain in Northwest Leaf magazine: “lung expansion, flavor worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize, and the ability to instantly make my face feel like it’s been shrink-wrapped.”
Marijuana is much stronger than it used to be. Lots of the strains for sale at medical marijuana dispensaries are approaching 25 percent THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound in the plant known for getting you wicked high. Sitting around a winter solstice bonfire in the Seattle area this December, I heard a woman in her 60s tell a story about her husband taking a tiny toke on a joint that was going around a dinner party, only to pass out in his chair. Another friend and her husband, in their 30s, decided to share a marijuana caramel after their daughter went to bed. They got way too stoned and entered a shared freak-out about how they would deal if she came out to ask for a glass of water.
An elder statesman of Generation X, comedian Louis C.K., has a bit in his Live at the Beacon Theater special about taking “big hits. Like big, 1970s, jean jacket, Bad Company hits” of modern, high potency dope, and then everything going terrifically terrible. “When I was a kid you could just smoke a joint for a while. Now you take two hits and you goinsane,” he says. “It’s not doable anymore.”
“Our potencies here are off the scale,” confirms longtime grower Todd Ellison, co-founder of Colorado Marijuana Marketing, a one-stop shop for weed-related entrepreneurs in search of marketing help. “I have a guy who taught me to grow, who has been growing since the ’60s. And this stuff blows him away.” And Ellison agrees. “I am almost 40. I’ve got three kids. You don’t want something that is going to lay you out and make you stupid all day.”
Why is dope so strong? Because plants with big, strong buds maximize the profit of the basement grower. Plus, the people who grow it and sell it also smoke it, and they’ve got high tolerances and a deep fondness for its effects. They like it strong.
Why is the economy of legal marijuana so wack? For that, you have to read the whole article — and I really recommend this one. It identifies both problems and solutions with commercial legalized pot, mostly why there does need to be something that isn’t mind-twisting but also isn’t skunky and disgusting, like the mellow “glass of wine” that some of us remember from the ’70s. (Yes, one solution is “take less” and another might be “ingenst differently” — but come on. “Take less” like saying that rather than people who want to drink a beer should instead just have a small shot of Everclear; it’s not the same experience. And “ingest different” — well, we oldsters have to worry more about calories, and clearing all junk food from the house is hard enough as it is without having brownies there staring at you, daring you, have some more, have some more….)
This is your Weekend Open Thread. Make it a safe and sane one. Talk about this article/issue or anything else you’d like, within bounds of decency and decorum.
Talking about smoking, here there is an invitation about smoking guns:
“I am hosting a nationwide series of house parties this Saturday night where tens of thousands of people will gather together in living rooms to watch ‘Bowling for Columbine’ and then hold a live “town hall” to discuss what the 310 million of us who aren’t members of the NRA are going to do about our continual gun tragedies.
Thanks to the good people at Netflix, you’ll be able to watch ‘Bowling for Columbine’ for free this Saturday! Last night we got a call from them and they told us they will stream the movie for free starting tomorrow so everyone can watch it. If you’re already on Netflix, then you’re all set. If you’re not, they’ll give you a free one-month trial subscription so you can stream the movie into your home on Saturday.
There are many other ways to get the movie too, just click here.
Friends, this is the moment to make this happen. The gun lobby is on the ropes but they are confident of victory because there is no comparable group as big and as well-funded on our own side to fight them. What we do have is the majority of Americans who have spoken loud and clear since Newtown that we want, at the bare minimum, some sensible laws passed to bring this gun violence down.
See you Saturday!
Michael Moore
MMFlint@MichaelMoore.com
Fine – I and thousands of others will drop Netflix – thanks for the info.
I hope you are watching the USA-Costa Rica game, for World Cup qualifying. They are playing in Denver, Colorado, under a blizzard!
If you’re over 50 and smokin’ the chronic, you are referred to as a “Puff Daddy.”
As far as the potency goes… sometimes less is more. The joint should be able to go around the room more than once.
That honestly depends on the size of the room.
UMMMMMMMM bud.
hasn’t it been proven that smoking pot leads to drinking gin which leads to registering democratic which leads to obamacare
I prefer Sam Adams brew or Coors – don’t care for Bud at all – but when not given much choice, I prefer Bud Light over Coors Light.
I prefer Guinness, but I prefer good wine to Guinness.
see, this is where you guys show the weakness of your alleged support for the disenfranchised….i drink nothing but pacifico in support of my hispanic brothers (and my gardener)
21st-century pot is indeed stronger than the stuff I used in the 1960s. Much stronger; including the medical pot. So what?
Although I wouldn’t try brain surgery after a few hits of guava dawg. Just be sure you’re home for the night, and avoid sharp-cornered furniture and banana peels on the kitchen floor.
P.S. And at our age, don’t get up too quickly.
Check and check! Thanks!
Well that explains a lot. Now I understand why after eating 1/2 a marijuana cookie (made by a local monk) and watching CSI that I kept looking out the window thinking the cops were coming over because my hubby was on the roof top too long and I was too stoned to get on the elevator to ask if he was ever coming back to our apartment.
Let me guess …. medical MJ .. right?
Was it her cancer that was the giveaway, skally?