Laughs aside, the MJ legalization push has been a bit eye opening at how brazen Pharma companies are getting about openly buying legislation.
Side fun fact. The county I live in within OH has decriminalized MJ possession so far that it now carries the same punishment as jaywalking and 0-5+ MPH speeding tickets. Just DO NOT carry a scale around with you.
But officer, I NEED to log my macros!
In that case, I suppose we must decide if we would rather deal with a private monopoly or government monopoly.
I would personally rather do business with the government just because there are a few (not many) people in the government who want to do the right thing (keep the prices affordable for the average American and keep it accessible and standardized). In a private company, their sole concern is to make money which could lead to problems if a monopoly really comes to fruition.
I lean more towards the 3rd option of neither lol. Monopolies arenāt a prerequisite to legalize MJ.
You mean a plant that any teen can grow in their own closet? Yeah, no need for Giant monopolies.
I end up feeling a little Zeppy when I rage about it. I just canāt fathom these states that settled and passed weed early with shitty Pharma control bills. Literally writing it into the law is just abysmal. Theyāre learning from the social experiment that ISPs are. If you write yourself into the legal process the rest is as childās game.
Not buying, writing. Itās just like insurance companies and Obamacare.
Insurance existed as a market prior to Ocare. Insurance companies got to dictate terms on a lot of shit because they hold the power.
Pharma companies are literally creating markets that didnāt exist before (legally) and naming themselves as not only the only source of the product, but of full control over the entire product cycle, while making sales from remaining source stay illegal.
It would be like if Ocare made out of pocket medical expenses illegal.
Like state insurance exchanges?
@Alrightmiami19c Hopefully the state legislatures donāt need to pass these bills to find out whatās in them.
If insurance companies owned the raw materials that go into everything they sell and make it illegal for you to hold any insurance that isnāt on that list then sure, just like the state insurance exchanges.
edit: 2nd thought these Pharma companies donāt own the chocolate production that goes into the edibles, so I guess not 100% of the raw materials.
I think youāre thinking of main active ingredients to produce the desired effect - thatās the rub, if I understand what youāre saying here correctly
Correct!
My 2nd thought comment was more a sarcastic jab at the comparison between Ocare and legal MJ 
I know what youāre saying, and I agree with that. Iād like it to be legal for people to grow their own like any other plant, or buy from someone in the neighborhood, but I just donāt think thatās going to happen. with an opportunity like this, thereās absolutely no doubt in my mind that some corporation is going to figure out a way to get as close to a monopoly as they legally can. Itās sad, really
There are already several states where you can grow your own, you just canāt buy from your neighbor. Imo, since it has āsomeā legitimate health drawbacks, allowing people to freely grow and resell like itās backyard tomatoes at a farmerās market isnāt a good idea.
In MA, an adult over 21 can legally grow up to 6 plants at a time, so thatās 12 per household (of 2 adults).
Where I live, there are a good amount of people with green thumbs (probably more adapt at growing MJ than your average pot head). It wouldnāt be too difficult to set up some loose community exchange with neighbors - depending on the medium of exchange, it can all be completely above board and outside of any government purview - regardless if you agree or not with the restrictions there are legal and legitimate ways around it. As Jeff Goldblum says, āLiberty finds a wayā¦ā 
Know the law and work around it. There are other ways to facilitate economic exchanges outside of government sanctioned currency.
Oh I know. I buy from my brother in law who getās from MI dispensaries. Unfortunately ābig MJā might kill the āgrow it in your garageā sector. Itās like the difference between grey goose and gas station handle vodka. The cost efficiency is WAYYYY different.
I agree - and itāll boil down to personal preference. I personally get more enjoyment from the process of growing plants from seeds (vegetables and what not) but not everyone does, which is fine with me.
I donāt think big MJ would ever really be able to squash out the small time community network especially since we/they tend to be made up of infrequent users. Usage just isnāt easy to track or plan for in terms of analytics for them to worry about squashing that type of thing out. Cost/Benefit , the juice aināt worth the squeeze especially since the only way big MJ would be able to enforce it is through legislation and local law enforcement and we all see how well THATāS been goingā¦I just donāt see it being beneficial to squash home growers in any meaningful way
I donāt mean theyāre intentionally going after home growers. I mean the quality of the product is so vastly different I think most home growers will be priced out of the market.
Most of the partakers that I know would gladly pay the price difference between home grown and Big MJ to see the change in quality. Itās really night and day
Meh, I wouldnāt say night and day ā¦ Not sure where youāre at but some of the homegrown stuff I have access to isnāt that far down in terms of quality of the industrial/medical grade stuff.
I think you and me are talking about 2 different things anyway, or just run in different circles lol ā¦ In terms of the commercial market, yes I agree with you - but there will be hobby growers that will make their own markets based on their own preferences - there will always be a niche market of varying size for homegrown/small crop stuff - just look at the market for moonshine and small batched whiskeys for a reference. ATF is always busting some small time āillegalā distiller in the hills of Appalachia b/c he didnāt pay his taxes/heās cutting too much into the market share of corporate distillersā¦