Something a person very rarely gets to witness is the creation of a new industry and the ability to see how it all plays out economically. My favorite college class was Macro Econ so it seems to fit my obsession on how the cannabis industry story in Colorado plays out.
Truth in advertising I am 100% pro decriminalizing cannabis in Wisconsin. Still on the fence for legalization.
The 2017 numbers are out and flower consumption (the stuff people smoke) is now less then 50% of total sales in CO. Prices continue to decline for flower to a pre-tax price per gram (perhaps 10 puffs?) of $6.65. Down from $9.00 in 2016, bringing in less cash and if they decline much farther there is a worry about some attrition or consolidation in farms and retail outlets. Flower consumption still brought in $39 million in sales in 2017.
Wait - what other cannabis related products make up the other 51%? Accessories, Edibles, Concentrates, Pre-rolled, Topical's and so forth. You can buy lib balm and I see there are now tampons with infused cannabis. I literally have nothing to say on THAT subject. The big one is topical pain relief which has dropped opiate use and overdoes's dramatically in CO.
Meanwhile in California the so called Emerald Triangle is having difficulties supplying for their new clients with distribution issues. In order to grow cannabis NOW you needs local and county governments to pass ordinances. In Mendocino county there are 15,000 farms that are waiting to have papers released but there are only 20 people giving approval. Once local inspections are done then county and state inspections.
THEN in order for a retail outlet to GET cannabis they have to order it from a distributor who orders it from the farmer who then sends his product to a lab where it is tested for pesticides and strength and then shipped back tot he farmer who then gives it to the distributor.
But the good news is California is dropping charges of decades of cannabis violations. Just tossing out all the cases freeing up jail space for real criminals.
In Nevada the problem is distribution. You can grow it, you can sell it, but there seems to be an issue with distribution. They decided to let the distribution fall on beer distributors which are few (like Wisconsin) who are either overwhelmed or just won't put the money into security and refuse to comply.
Unlike the Colorado government that fast tracks all problems and fixes issues within weeks using common sense some states believe common sense is a thing of the past and you must do everything by the books . . even if it costs jobs, income and lives.
One last thing - In States that have legalized cannabis, opiate abuse has fallen, violent crime is way down and states are pouring money into schools, public safety and infrastructure and teen use has actually fallen.
There are issues though for sure. Construction companies and restaurants are having issues finding employees that are not stoned or as in restaurants, just don't want to work. But this is a problem even in non-cannabis states have as there is a lack of workers (thus we will never pay for the Trump tax cuts with a 6% GDP that is needed to pay off his loan).
It is just fascinating watching a new industry evolve.
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Basement project so far - Steve Black is the contractor for this project and everything is running smooth as silk.
Mudding and painting floor next week.
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Nobody is talking about the latest GOPer to resign. Mr. Bhengazi Trey Gowdy. Directly after the train accident yesterday he announced he is not running as he believes Government is too divided. Really? He thinks that?
Also a very corrupt Democrat is stepping down. Bob Brady, head of the Philadelphia Democratic Party Machine. No loss there!
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Economics Policy Institute reported that cities and states that give companies massive incentives to locate their companies are REALLY getting bad deals with hopes, dreams and empty promises that politicians use to buy votes (jobs jobs jobs). It just does not happen that way in real life.+++++++++++++++++++
Trump is saying his SOTU speech was the most watched in history . . . .well, if you don't count Obama or either Bush's I suppose. It's like watching dementia live on TV.
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WEATHER - Put gas in the snow blower - High of 9 today but the good news is that it's very fresh air that was in the arctic a few days ago.
Looks like the snow will come more early Sunday morning then Saturday with 1-3 and then later Monday another 1-3 inches and then Friday (the 9th) another 1-3 inches.
Sunday/Monday COULD form a long duration event with 3-5 inches if the two systems meld together.
Saturday will be the warmest day for a while - up to 28 and c c c cold next week.
