Pubdate: Thu, 08 Jan 2015
Source: Sacramento News & Review (CA)
Copyright: 2015 Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://newsreview.com/sacto/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/540
Author: Ngaio Bealum

FIGHTING OFF THE CAPITALISTS

Hello. I am all for legalizing marijuana, but I worry about gigantic 
corporations trying to monopolize the marijuana industry. What can I do?

- -Khan Cerned

You can relax a little. Big Marijuana may be on the horizon, but it 
is not here yet. The capitalists and the corporations are definitely 
looking to get in on the marijuana legalization movement. I take that 
back. The capitalists don't really care about the legalization 
movement, they just want to be there when marijuana is legalized so 
they can jump in and take the money. They will try to make it so that 
when the marijuana laws are changed, the costs to open a 
cannabis-based business (licensing fees, insurance requirements, 
etc.) will be so expensive that all the mom-and-pop growers will be 
unable to go start their own businesses.

It won't work. What "the suits" fail to realize is that they are 
dealing with outlaws (I use the word "outlaw" as a term of affection 
when it comes to pot growers). Washington and Colorado both have 
legalized weed, and the underground pot market is still going strong. 
If these businesspeople think that passing a bunch of restrictive 
regulations to give themselves an unfair advantage will stop people 
that have been growing marijuana illegally for decades, they are deluded.

The marijuana industry has always been a decentralized marketplace, 
mostly by necessity. No one wants to draw too much attention or get 
too big, lest they draw the ire of the feds. That has changed a 
little in states where recreational cannabis is legal, as people are 
creating brands and getting celebrity endorsements, but the fact 
remains: You can't regulate marijuana like it's tobacco or Sudafed. 
We need to regulate weed less like some sort of super-dangerous 
narcotic and more like tomatoes or wine. Oregon's new marijuana laws 
do a really good job of keeping the costs of starting a cannabis 
business low, and there's no lottery for pot licenses, like there was 
in Washington.

One last thing: Even if some giant corporations go ham and start 
trying to corner the market, they may get good business from the 
squares and newbs, but the true chronnissuers will stick to their 
artisanal, small batch, "micro-grow" cannabis brands. I mean, 
Budweiser is cool, I guess, but I would rather have an Anchor Steam 
or a Ruhstaller.

When I smoke weed I get paranoid. I am also schizophrenic. I love the 
taste of the bud and I love the high feeling. I get raps in my head 
sometimes but after two minutes I get paranoid and do crazy things. 
The smoke feels smooth so I smoke most of the blunt or all of it, I 
take more than two hits. I wanted to avoid asking you 'cuz you might 
tell me to quit and I dont want to. What should I do?

- -JH

Dude. Quit. Or at least take two hits and stop. You may want to try 
strains with less THC and more CBD. Maybe you should talk to your therapist.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom