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http://weedactivist.com/2014/04/06/go-flower-ourselves/

 

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Go flower Ourselves

April 6, 2014 in End the Drug WarEthics and Moralityflower YouI Like WeedInspireMessagingWeed ActivismWeed BusinessWeed FreedomWeed Politics

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Are we our own worst enemies? The answer is “PROBABLY.”

The cannabis industry is in a bizarre state of moo poo and egotistical positioning. As we emerge from prohibition there is no shortage of people within our own ranks willing to literally flower over our entire mission of cannabis freedom to meet some financial objective, or to realize some competitive advantage. It is no longer the prohibitionists and drug warrior who are gunning against our fight for freedom….It is us.

Go flower ourselves….

Was anyone surprised to see that the indictment of CA State Senator Leland Yee included charges that, as a lawmaker, he was taking bribe money from the FBI to create legislation in California that was favorable to a particular medical marijuana business model, so said company could have an advantage in the marketplace? You shouldn’t be….This bunny muffin is happening ALL OF THE TIME in our industry and the results are becoming disastrous.

Here is a look at that indictment:

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The reality that you need to look at is that A LOT of the new investor type folks, and many of the “old guard” who have done pretty well for themselves in the industry, are conspiring to make money…not cannabis freedom. Their goal is to set things up so that they, and they alone, can make a lot of money through limiting freedom and allowing what I like to call “prohibition light” to take place.

“Prohibition light” is a reference to the over-regulated market we see being developed mostly by who?……people who are supposedly a part of this “movement.” To be clear, there is no making whoopee movement anymore. I am not even sure there ever was. But what is masquerading as a movement for social change is really anything but. What you have now is a bunch of money hungry pricks pretending to give a bunny muffin so they can secure their piece of the pie; and they are totally willing to flower over your rights and freedoms to do so.

It amazes me when I hear the call for “unity” in this movement. What is funny is it is usually the most scandalous and shady motherfuckers who want to unify their imagined movement. “Unity” is a code word for shut the flower up and get in line because we are about to flower you over real good like.

Take the Americans for Safe Access “Unity Conference” happening in Washington D.C. I know of several high-profile dispensary groups and producers of cannabis medicines who were not even given the courtesy of notice that there was a conference going on. Granted these are folks that quit donating money to ASA, but since when does unity cost money? If we really wanted to unify the industry, aren’t the folks who produce and dispense medicine ultra-important in that equation?

Not really. The position being taken is one that “cash rules everything around me.” The money folks could give a bunny muffin about your freedom and hard work. They can afford to replace you or buy you out. You are irrelevant. So what becomes “Unity” is getting a bunch of token activists and industry “moguls” to attend a conference to give the impression of relevance to the big money losers who are driving the direction of reform and pushing the industry to a place where only they can compete.

Many within our own ranks are suckers….There is no getting around that.

Which is why it is not surprising to see those who we have respected and fought in the trenches with for years being lured away by shiny beads and nifty trinkets. It is like the Native Americans struggle all over again. It is bizarre to watch really because the funny part is that the real money has not even arrived. The moo poo money people are selling their souls for now will be irrelevant when the whole thing plays out.

You know you’re being used…..but it’s okay if you like the abuse.

I am so tired of seeing people I once respected disregard their principles and morals for a shot at some quick coin. It is like I cannot even look at half the people in this movement any more. You bunch of sell-out pricks know who you are.

So how is it going to play out? What is the end game?

Simple….People are working to flower you over as we speak. They are working on corrupting public officials to pass overly-burdensome regulations that all but ensure that you will not be allowed to compete in the market.

Don’t believe me?

Who do you think keeps making sure that rigorous lab testing is included in every regulatory model and ordinance? If you guessed people who provide lab services and/or folks whose models are focused around the marketing scheme of lab testing, you would be correct.

Who is lobbying to limit licensing and to have the industry operated through departments where they have more control and influence? If you guessed organizations which are already established in areas who have the resources to keep the playing field un-level then you too would be correct.

Ready for another? Who wants to make sure that cannabis production is regulated to a few large homogeneous entities that produce all of the cannabis for the masses instead of a small farmer/producer environment based on free market principles? You guessed it….Big money muffin makers who think they can hire minimum wage workers to tend the plants and make the products who could give a bunny muffin about your dedication to the craft.

One more. Who is working to ensure further “medicalization” of the movement? Doctors and medical focused groups. You guessed it. Regardless if the best thing that could ever happened to medical cannabis was adult use legalization. That is never good for the bottom line. It becomes money over morals.

So who is the enemy?

It is us….or at least people who are pretending to be us that are buying and selling cannabis activists like they were baseball cards to display on their fancy ruse to take over the industry. They are using their money and influence to limit competition and to sucker people out of their hard work and intellectual property. Their mirrors all have smoke in them, and the reality is that most of the petty bartering and trading for souls we see now will become irrelevant and real business principles take over. What will be left is a bunch of poor saps who sold out their morals, principles, and reputation for a few lousy bucks and some lofty promises.

If you believe all of the moo poo promises being made right now then I have a bridge to sell you made of cannabis brownies. It only will cost you a billion…with a “b.”

It is sad but true. We are making whoopee ourselves in way that lawmakers and regulators could not even imagine.

Most of the efforts we see that are limiting cannabis freedom and which are morphing into barriers to entry for the industry are created by people who we entrusted to carry our message. The cannabis reform game is filled with snakes who are willing to barter and compromise our values to get ahead. Some of it is so blatantly transparent that it is easy to spot. But most of this is some backroom hand-shake bunny muffin that is happening right under our noses.

Check out this email from lawmakers in Wisconsin talking about getting a “template” for CBD-only legislation for the State that was provided by who? Realm of Caring

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With friends like these who the flower needs drug warriors any more?

It is us. Our enemies are within. They are here…. They are sitting at the conference with you hitting their vape pen and pretending to give a flower about your life at this very moment. Welcome to the show.

So before you go getting all high-horse on a player and disparaging me for my skepticisms and unwillingness to comply with the fake calls for unity, just know that unity is also another word for collusion. Many in the game right now have one goal and one goal only….It is money. Surprise!!!

Not really….Humans suck.

Maybe it is too much to ask to have the right for adults to use cannabis however they would like without fear of jail or arrest be the focus of our “movement.” Maybe the human experience is lined with greed and corruption and it is too idealistic of me to expect cannabis to be anything but another shitshow on the blip of history that we are now experiencing. Maybe it is impossible to avoid the moo poo that is coming. Maybe it is all inevitable….

But maybe not.

It is possible that we are at an apex in history and that we have the ability to shape the future. Maybe we have learned enough as a society to reject the frauds and hucksters for once. Just maybe we can influence the emerging market and work to ensure a level of consciousness in the future of corporate cannabis. It takes discipline and the willingness to speak truth to power.

But we must find our voice before it is too late. We must drive the frauds and sell-outs from the industry, and demand that hard-working ethical providers of cannabis have a fair and honest seat at the table. We can no longer sit idly by and just hope things are going to be okay. Without us they most certainly are not.

Kick a fraud in their proverbial nuts, and do not fall for the sweat shop cannabis get rich quick moo poo that is passing off as a movement these days. The movement is within you, or it is not. It is not a tagline for people to solicit their donations and flower us out of our rights any more.

It is going to take a lot of heart to beat it back. Are you ready? Because the battle has already begun. Selah.

 
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It won't stop until ;

 

 -we stop investing in their follies, fueling their fight against us.

I dunno. Almost every grower I have met over the years....dating back to the early 90s, was sure that his product was the best. There is a bit of an ego problem in this industry. And about half of the under 30 crowd seems to think that they will be the one to veg a plant for two weeks, flower it for six, and pull 8 oz per plant of 20+% THC.

 

Like it or not, there are a lot of growers who thought that the MMMA was their chance to really shine and be someone all-of-the-sudden and they have a hard time accepting that, on average, their meds are average..

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Well man, i agree with this post. So...what do we do about it? I am one of the "little guys", while i do have enough financial backing behind me to afford getting a 25k license or w/e its coming down to in colorado atm, i believe in free market capitalism. If the industry is only going to be limited to a select few, that doesnt really help our country as a whole like i am hoping. I was really shocked to see that bit about realm of caring. So what can we do to ensure that small business can have a place in the industry?

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Well man, i agree with this post. So...what do we do about it? I am one of the "little guys", while i do have enough financial backing behind me to afford getting a 25k license or w/e its coming down to in colorado atm, i believe in free market capitalism. If the industry is only going to be limited to a select few, that doesnt really help our country as a whole like i am hoping. I was really shocked to see that bit about realm of caring. So what can we do to ensure that small business can have a place in the industry?

 

I listened to a program on NPR with an interview of a guy who, if I remember right, was a former DEA agent.  He postulated that the MJ crowd is kinda picky/elitist and that a lot of consumers will only buy products grown small-scale with an emphasis on quality and selective breeds.  So his theory is that we won't see big-cannabis like we see big-liquor and big-tobacco...that most recreational cannabis will come from boutique growers.

 

So what do we do about it?  Narrow down two or three elite strains that are helpful to your patients.  Tell your patients that in the event of full-on legalization, you'll see to their needs and ... anything extra, you'll sell to the local liquor store under the new legal framework.

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I have no problem with others making a buck off of mj or any non-harmful good/service.

 

The problem is when small guys are arbritrarily priced out of the competition by restrictive government policies. Back in 1820 it was commonplace for states to issue monopoly permits to aristocrats (today's old gaurd and rich). Quite unthinkable to issue a monopoly permit today you say? But new laws that accomplish effectively the same thing are written everyday.

 

If you've ever tried to bring a product to market fully legally you'd know what I'm talking about. Permits, safety inspections, fines, tax on the sale - the government demands it's money left right and center.

 

You must take a slurp from the money river before you can make your own. So for us unwashed masses get back to cowering in the cubicle, after 4 years of college, if you're lucky, BOB!

 

In addition to the initial permit it'd be good to also add on a series of punishingly expensive required inspections so that even if we get 25K it will be impossible to grow a small operation into a big one as has been the case for decades. The only thing we can count on is the State's greed to keep legal rec prices high and the black market booming and the legit med market limping along.

 

I can't imagine that won't happen here. The rich want that, as it secures the market away from us, the city/state wants that dough as always, joe citizen can be convinced it's for the safety of their community - and just a minor line item barely worth the quibble.

As caregivers, we will say no, but will we vote no? And are their enough of us that are both vocal and involved to make any difference?

 

There are opportunities going forward, but I don't see growing pot as a good long term career for all but the luckiest, best, and most well connected.

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Highlander.I am not convinced my products are the best. I think they are quite good: the look, smell, and taste seem highly competitive. I think that so much that I invited a professional photographer over to come over and take photo's of my purple cookies for a High Times Submission late this month. I'm told good things by my patients vis-a-vis product quality, taste, consistently. I have very few problems these days, push 1 gpw consistently with 3-4 plants VScrog'd AROUND a 600W, weekly harvests, and currently produce an obsurd and unnecessary amount of MJ (these days a lot goes into the trash) for about $550 /mo which includes all consumables and electric.

 

I believe that organic MJ could be better, and yet in every way MY non-organic mj is vastly superior to MY organic grows after 2 years running organic. I'm talking taste, potency, smell, everything. That right there tells me I'm not at the top of the mountain yet. Organics kind of hurt my brain, hydro is trivially easy for me. My strain mix isn't quite right yet and there are other little imperfections that I'm still ironing out. 

 

What's the best is both highly idiosyncratic to each patient AND super susceptible to marketing tricks. If I put my weed into a better package does it become better weed?  If I present my Marijuana and proudly exclaim that it is the best thing me and my "testers" have ever smoked in a convincing manner does it make it better? I honestly think the answer to both q's is yes. There is not really room for the humble is there? Do you want to get medicine from a grower that thinks it's just ok?

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I still like the idea of government being the sole distributor of cannabis, but only if the general public is allowed to also grow any amount they want. This would keep government prices low and quality high, maybe. I just don't want to see pot being produced and pushed for profit.

 

This is what the Canadians are sold now that their grow rights have been taken away.

Here's your government "low price" "high quality"  stuff.

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22 grams of VICS organic cannabis (18%THC) compared to 22 grams of Health Canada cannabis (12%THC)

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22 grams of Health Canada cannabis

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Close-up of Health Canada cannabis; please note the abundance of stalk, stem, and debris.

 

http://www.safeaccess.ca/research/flinflon/index.htm

 

Still like the idea of government sole distributorship?

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I agree with these sentiments, and these behaviors are reflected here in Michigan.

What I do not understand is why can their not be a happy medium.  meaning let all types of ops go down.  Just buy licenses and let the big guys come in and let the small mom n pops go too.  I do not get it.

 

 

On another note what is wrong with making money during the process of procuring HIGH GRADE MEDS...?  Everybody seems to think that because you grow MEd MJ you have to live poor and be some poor guy driving a ratty beater and look like willie nelson.

 

The stereo types exist on all levels of this game.  That is what gets me peeved.  So to make a good living doing medical MJ is a crime...?

 

I THINK NOT.  If you work hard and produce better quality than everyone because you put it all down cycle after cycle. ...well what is wrong with being rewarded accordingly.??  Just because you do MED MJ you have to be on Food stamps.  LOL....or look a certain way. 

 

 

Big corporations and small Organic operations can co-exist.  Because truth be told not everyone wants to buy Chemical laden, insecticide sprayed HYDRO POOP..!!!

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I think in reality both will end up existing together. Just like alcohol. You can either go to the store and buy the brand name, or brew your own at home. The big companies aren't worried about the home brewers, and the homebrewers want nothing to do with the big brand name alcohol pee water they sell.

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This is what the Canadians are sold now that their grow rights have been taken away.

Here's your government "low price" "high quality"  stuff.

2802.jpg

22 grams of VICS organic cannabis (18%THC) compared to 22 grams of Health Canada cannabis (12%THC)

2747.jpg

22 grams of Health Canada cannabis

2762.jpg

Close-up of Health Canada cannabis; please note the abundance of stalk, stem, and debris.

 

http://www.safeaccess.ca/research/flinflon/index.htm

 

Still like the idea of government sole distributorship?

That is some ugly stuff. You know, the government could do it if they cared. The problem is that they don't care. 

 

They could easily hire professional growers and get it right, but a particular form of government retardation prevents them from doing so. They can't do it. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

didn't health Canada take the prairie plants (HB 660) off their list of providers due to mold and illegal pesticides. Anyone that can pull off a 20k 30k 40k watt grow deserves some cash..... there probably aren't 100 guys in MI that can do that. 100 GUYS x 30 LIGHTS is only around a ton... how many tons have been brought to Detroit since Crack empowered the cartels. I'ld like to see some pictures of the grow rooms from the 37 indited out west. and i'ld like to know how many lights. Big indoor grows don't work well. I think that someone could start a bus buying from local growers and selling to the canooks, THEN USA would have an export (besides our billionaires) leaving the country

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