|
| CNBC Marijuana Inc. Lifts The Lid on Weed Business |
|
Posted by CN Staff on January 22, 2009 at 05:16:51 PT By David Hinckley Source: Daily News 
USA -- Don't worry that you're having a weed-induced flashback, dude, if you think there's something familiar about Trish Regan's CNBC report Thursday night on the American marijuana industry. Lisa Ling reported the same story about two months ago on the National Geographic channel.But a certain amount of overlap doesn't diminish Regan's solid feature, which focuses on Mendocino County, Calif, where entrepreneurs grow marijuana the way Washington, D.C., grows cherry trees. And in most cases, almost as openly. For better or worse, pot has become a major player in American agriculture, and Regan matter-of-factly notes that what corn is to Iowa, marijuana is to a fertile triangle just outside San Francisco. Fittingly for a CNBC production, Regan focuses more on the economics than the sociology of marijuana, and the numbers make her point eloquently. It costs about $400 to grow a pound of marijuana. The grower sells it to a wholesaler for about $2,500. It's then broken down in smaller quantities that can bring in about $6,000. You see the incentive here. One of the growers interviewed by Regan values his plants at about $5,000 apiece. He has 20 of them, which makes him a small grower, but still adds up to more than small change. It also puts him into a gray legal area, Regan points out. California several years ago started allowing residents to grow small amounts of marijuana for personal medicinal use. But no court has definitively ruled what constitutes a small amount, and then there's one other complication: Growing any marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Most of Regan's interview subjects, who don't mind showing their faces or wares on national television, seem unbothered by the potential for prosecution. Nor do her interviews with law enforcement officials suggest much cause for concern. The main response of the marijuana police, local and federal, is frustration that they can do so little about an enterprise that some officials figure may in some way involve up to 60% of county residents. Without marijuana farming, Regan's sources all agree, the county's economy would implode. "Marijuana Inc." adds up to a solid special with a well-supported and inescapable conclusion: The commerce is unlikely to change and the law has only a slim chance of doing more than containing the most violence-prone offenders. When it comes to marijuana, a whole lot of people voted some time ago to just say yes. Marijuana Inc.: Inside America's Pot Industry: Thursday night at 9, CNBC URL: http://www.cnbc.com/id/28281668/ Source: New York Daily News (NY) CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archives Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
 |
|
Comment #20 posted by heretic on January 25, 2009 at 06:30:56 PT:
|
| The high price is attributable to prohibition's anti-capitalist restraint of free trade. Increased supply from small farmers after repeal should bring the price down to the neighborhood of tobacco. More consumer discretionary funds will flow to the rest of the economy if they are not depleted by an unnatural seller's market in psychoactive substances.
[ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #19 posted by FoM on January 23, 2009 at 07:10:44 PT |
| I like to figure out what makes people think like they do and I have followed Obama since he announced his running for President. He is a kind and open man but when he is pushed he stands up against it. That's a good quality. All this hoopla about he has to do this or that might turn him off before he even gets to give our issue any thought. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #18 posted by BGreen on January 23, 2009 at 06:51:37 PT |
| A great number of people moved to our area from California because everything is so much cheaper here than there. I'm sure the same thing applies to cannabis because I've never seen anything that expensive. The Reverend Bud Green [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #17 posted by FoM on January 23, 2009 at 06:46:32 PT |
| If the cost stays high they might not let anyone grow a home garden is my fear when it is finally legal. If it isn't worth the money they'll leave mom and pop alone. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #16 posted by BGreen on January 23, 2009 at 06:38:11 PT |
| Very few people seemed to give a damn when the lives of millions were destroyed, but mention money and profits and all of a sudden we are everybody's darling. I don't have that kind of money either so I'm not one spending or receiving that kind of money, but it's prohibition that is to blame and not those risking their lives and freedom. As far as the tobacco companies go, people still grow their own vegetables even though it's more work than going to the grocery store because it's oodles better. For that reason there will always be small cannabis gardens across this planet. The Reverend Bud Green [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #15 posted by BGreen on January 23, 2009 at 06:29:07 PT |
| Do you favor the decriminalization of marijuana use? 16383 responses Yes 97% No 2.8% **As of this posting, CNBC has only received comments favoring decriminalization of marijuana. ******************************************************** I do believe our time has come. The Reverend Bud Green [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #14 posted by FoM on January 23, 2009 at 06:28:19 PT |
| I don't live in the world of big money since people could never afford any at those prices. If we keep pushing the big money point like they are I can almost guarantee that Tobacco companies will jump on board and blow little growers right out of the water. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #13 posted by BGreen on January 23, 2009 at 06:21:09 PT |
| Growing cannabis can ruin your life if you're caught. You're facing a prison sentence rivaling that of only the most vicious murderer, the loss of your home, your property and your money so, just like any other high risk job, the price is higher for the service. Why should a few risk everything they have to provide something for nothing that so many want when the end consumer isn't the one with anything at risk? Higher prices are just a way of sharing the risk until cannabis is legalized, then the price will be much lower where it should be. The Reverend Bud Green [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #12 posted by FoM on January 23, 2009 at 05:55:17 PT |
| I thought about this show that was on CNBC a lot since I saw it and it depressed me. I feel ashamed. We are in a terrible economy and I cannot comprehend why people think this God Given Plant is worth so much. It's just a plant. I hope all this money talk doesn't cause us grief like what happened back in the 70s when cocaine entered the picture. I think it could though. I guess many people are too young to remember that time when we lost all our momentum. The plants were pretty but marijuana is a pretty plant but that doesn't make it worth that kind of money. Is marijuana the substance we are fighting for or is it money? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #11 posted by FoM on January 23, 2009 at 05:07:57 PT |
| January 22, 2009 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28354324/ [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #10 posted by John Tyler on January 22, 2009 at 20:42:31 PT |
| It was funny, in an odd way, that even those against cannabis had to admit that the cannabis industry had tremendous economic power, and that good cannabis was grown in their region, even if they did not agree with it. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #9 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 19:11:52 PT |
| It was ok. I didn't think it made any new points though. The amount of money that people make is mind boggling to me. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #8 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 14:55:39 PT |
| I am looking forward to seeing the first ever plant worth $5,000 on the show. They usually show decent looking plants but that one has to have a halo around it or something. PS: I had to laugh. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by Zandor on January 22, 2009 at 11:39:17 PT |
| While outdoor grows may only cost $400.00 a pound to produce, those who are forced to grow indoors spend in average $1,600.00 to 2,000.00 per pound. When you factor in the cost of Electricity the math does NOT add up. With power bills at about $300-$400 a month that makes the correct amount closer to $1,600.00 to $2,000.00 for a pound. That FACT does not make their numbers look as good so it was missed from the NATGO airing. This is still HYPE and only half truths and NOT the REAL STORY!! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 07:08:34 PT |
| The news is very repetitious. I am glad our country has a new president and that is what will keep me going until we see where we are headed. I do understand why you feel the way you do. I am sick of the hoopla. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 07:03:10 PT |
| Medical Marijuana Event Across Street from LA Police Station Inauguration Day January 21, 2009 URL: http://drugsense.org/url/f6d2dtuu [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by CanadianGanjaman on January 22, 2009 at 06:58:17 PT |
| Honestly im tired of reading articles that either recount an event that everyone is already familiar with, or use basic selling or growing language to appear more educated in the readers eyes... throw me something more than a stale tidbit of wisdom, each day im less inclined to read the news because of its irksome cycle... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by HempWorld on January 22, 2009 at 06:21:25 PT |
| On a mission from God! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 05:49:54 PT |
| CNBC Explores California's Vast Illegal Industry in 'Marijuana Inc.' *** By Kevin McDonough, United Feature Syndicate With business as bad as it is, it makes sense for CNBC, the leading business network, to look into an underground enterprise, a vast illegal empire that operates in the warm California sun. "Marijuana Inc.: Inside America's Pot Industry" (9 p.m., CNBC) offers an hour-long tour of California's Emerald Empire, located in three counties north of San Francisco where pot cultivation has grown from a casual pastime to one of the state's biggest cash crops. Correspondent Trish Regan interviews serious growers and explains the tricky nature of an industry buffeted by overlapping and contradictory county, state and federal laws. As Regan explains, the economics of pot make it like catnip to some entrepreneurs. The $400 it takes to grow a pound of marijuana can yield $2,500 to a middleman and go for $6,000 on the street. Naturally, an illicit trade and cash transactions lead to violence and gunplay. Regan also interviews a school principal who decided to leave her family's bucolic neighborhood after she discovered that everybody on her block was in the business. Complete Article: http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=122375 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by FoM on January 22, 2009 at 05:39:02 PT |
| I'm looking forward to seeing this program tonight. As long as marijuana stays the focal point it should be at least educational. [ Post Comment ] |
| Post Comment |  |
 |  |