4 ms·

As enforcement is winding down, weed dispensaries are competing against near slave wage labor. That's the problem. Illegal weed is basically being created outs

As enforcement is winding down, weed dispensaries are competing against near slave wage labor. That's the problem. Illegal weed is basically being created outside the US with labor who barely gets paid, of course the cost will be higher. Because it's being imported via illegal channels this is now a customs problem. My bet is that the way to solve this would be to create a legal weed import policy, letting it sit there for a decade, then when illegal weed channels don't exist, add on a tariff. Then things will balance out.

boringg 5y ago
Um, its being grown in Humboldt county in the middle of the forest. It is essentially incredibly cheap forced labor - but input costs are pretty low. There is also pot being imported but a lot of it is grown in the state/national forests.
- pengaru 5y ago
  Judging from news reports, a good chunk is grown in the desert region as well: https://z1077fm.com/tag/marijuana/ https://z1077fm.com/tag/marijuana/
  - boringg 5y ago
    Seems like both mexican and asian gangs based on those arrested. Desert seems like a bold place to grow even in the shade structures... All you need to do is run an algorithm over the satellite data for any new structures on a weekly basis then have PD check it out for illegal grow op...
    - pengaru 5y ago
      The consequences for the perps are basically nil, it's apparently a land use violation as far as CA is concerned. Literally a county code enforcement/permitting office problem of agriculture in a non-agriculture zone. At least until they find illegal weapons or evidence of other crimes. There's been rumblings of changing the laws to increase the penalties, but I haven't followed the issue closely. The large grows are problematic for the region's water security/quality, since the region is dependent on finite groundwater aquifers full of ancient water that isn't being recharged anywhere near the rate of consumption AIUI. There are reasons it's not zoned for agriculture.
buildsjets 5y ago
Lol! Weed is barely imported anymore. Seizures at the border have been on a continuous downward trend since 2000. Imports are now close to miniscule. It’s illegally grown domestically, whether that be guerrilla grows in the national forest, or massive warehouses in plain sight. https://www.princetonpolicy.com/ppa-blog/2018/5/15/we-are-winning-the-war-on-mexican-drug-smuggling https://www.princetonpolicy.com/ppa-blog/2018/5/15/we-are-wi... https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R45812.pdf https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R45812.pdf https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oregon-state-police-seize-250-tons-illegal-marijuana-81303105 https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oregon-state-police-seiz... https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marijuana-seized-california-billion-drug-bust-illegal-cultivation/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marijuana-seized-california-bil...
dumbfoundded 5y ago
A lot wrong with your statement. Weed isn't imported. It's grown domestically. Here was a billion dollar field in California that got caught (1). There are many more. The next part of slave labor is just false. Trimmers I met were earning $500 to $1,000 a day. $100 per lb trimmed was pretty common. If anything, creating an import model will guarantee we use slaves. Columbia exports cannabis legally to Europe already with a lot less worker protections than in the US. (1) https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/la-county-sheriff-marijuana-pot-billion-dollar-seized-plants-lancaster-antelope-valley/2633199/ https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/la-county-sheriff-m...
- curryst 5y ago
  > Trimmers I met were earning $500 to $1,000 a day. $100 per lb trimmed was pretty common. I don't believe this, the numbers don't line up. If it's wet, doing 5 pounds in a day is reasonable, but nobody's going to pay you $100/pound for it. 5 pounds of wet is a little over a pound dried, so $500 is around a quarter of the total sale price. I just don't believe anyone is paying that much for something a child with safety scissors could do (albeit much worse). I also don't believe that growers wouldn't simply buy automatic bud trimmers. They're not as good, but I would be willing to bet that consumers would be happy to not pay the apparent 25% trimmer markup in exchange for slightly less pretty buds. If that's dry bud, the price is reasonable, but there's no way in hell anyone is trimming 5-10 pounds of dry bud a day. That's like a rolling curbside garbage bin full of weed. I don't think they're using slave labor, but given the number of people I've heard wanting to do it so they can work with weed, I'd be surprised if they're paying significantly more than minimum wage. I'd wager it's very close to $15/hour + perks, where "perks" mostly means "all the free weed you can smoke".

boringg 5y ago

Um, its being grown in Humboldt county in the middle of the forest. It is essentially incredibly cheap forced labor - but input costs are pretty low. There is also pot being imported but a lot of it is grown in the state/national forests.

pengaru 5y ago
Judging from news reports, a good chunk is grown in the desert region as well: https://z1077fm.com/tag/marijuana/ https://z1077fm.com/tag/marijuana/
- boringg 5y ago
  Seems like both mexican and asian gangs based on those arrested. Desert seems like a bold place to grow even in the shade structures... All you need to do is run an algorithm over the satellite data for any new structures on a weekly basis then have PD check it out for illegal grow op...
  - pengaru 5y ago
    The consequences for the perps are basically nil, it's apparently a land use violation as far as CA is concerned. Literally a county code enforcement/permitting office problem of agriculture in a non-agriculture zone. At least until they find illegal weapons or evidence of other crimes. There's been rumblings of changing the laws to increase the penalties, but I haven't followed the issue closely. The large grows are problematic for the region's water security/quality, since the region is dependent on finite groundwater aquifers full of ancient water that isn't being recharged anywhere near the rate of consumption AIUI. There are reasons it's not zoned for agriculture.

buildsjets 5y ago

Lol! Weed is barely imported anymore. Seizures at the border have been on a continuous downward trend since 2000. Imports are now close to miniscule. It’s illegally grown domestically, whether that be guerrilla grows in the national forest, or massive warehouses in plain sight. https://www.princetonpolicy.com/ppa-blog/2018/5/15/we-are-winning-the-war-on-mexican-drug-smuggling https://www.princetonpolicy.com/ppa-blog/2018/5/15/we-are-wi... https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R45812.pdf https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R45812.pdf https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oregon-state-police-seize-250-tons-illegal-marijuana-81303105 https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oregon-state-police-seiz... https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marijuana-seized-california-billion-drug-bust-illegal-cultivation/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marijuana-seized-california-bil...

dumbfoundded 5y ago

A lot wrong with your statement. Weed isn't imported. It's grown domestically. Here was a billion dollar field in California that got caught (1). There are many more. The next part of slave labor is just false. Trimmers I met were earning $500 to $1,000 a day. $100 per lb trimmed was pretty common. If anything, creating an import model will guarantee we use slaves. Columbia exports cannabis legally to Europe already with a lot less worker protections than in the US. (1) https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/la-county-sheriff-marijuana-pot-billion-dollar-seized-plants-lancaster-antelope-valley/2633199/ https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/la-county-sheriff-m...

curryst 5y ago
> Trimmers I met were earning $500 to $1,000 a day. $100 per lb trimmed was pretty common. I don't believe this, the numbers don't line up. If it's wet, doing 5 pounds in a day is reasonable, but nobody's going to pay you $100/pound for it. 5 pounds of wet is a little over a pound dried, so $500 is around a quarter of the total sale price. I just don't believe anyone is paying that much for something a child with safety scissors could do (albeit much worse). I also don't believe that growers wouldn't simply buy automatic bud trimmers. They're not as good, but I would be willing to bet that consumers would be happy to not pay the apparent 25% trimmer markup in exchange for slightly less pretty buds. If that's dry bud, the price is reasonable, but there's no way in hell anyone is trimming 5-10 pounds of dry bud a day. That's like a rolling curbside garbage bin full of weed. I don't think they're using slave labor, but given the number of people I've heard wanting to do it so they can work with weed, I'd be surprised if they're paying significantly more than minimum wage. I'd wager it's very close to $15/hour + perks, where "perks" mostly means "all the free weed you can smoke".