California Medical Pot Still Brings In The Money

If you live in Humboldt County, or any other California region where bulk marijuana sales account for a substantial portion of your community's revenue, then you have probably heard growers talking about how low the price of a pound of pot has fallen over the past couple of years.

Humboldt growers are currently facing buyers who refuse to pay more than $2500 for a pound of high quality indoor marijuana, and as low as $1200 for good outdoor buds. This is a massive market shift from just two years ago when growers could easily find buyers willing to pay between $3200 and $3800 for chronic indoor weed and as much as $2800 for good outdoor buds.

There are a couple of things we find interesting about this trend.

First, per-gram prices at MMJ dispensaries have not changed much, with most outlets still asking (and receiving) $50 or more for an eighth and $300 for an ounce on indoor strains, and roughly half that for outdoor (depending on where you shop). At $300 per ounce, those sellers are bringing in $4800 per pound -- almost a 100% markup. The same is true on the street, where the cost of an eighth of weed is still about $50 pretty much everywhere you go.

Second, demand is undoubtedly up nationwide, and prices most certainly have not fallen on the streets of, say, New York City or Atlanta, GA, where many buyers routinely pay $425 or more for an ounce of sticky California-grown pot.

So it's fair to say that prices have only really changed for marijuana producers, while end-users are paying the same amount as they always have. Which of course means that the market is just as strong, and the profits just as great, but the growers aren't seeing nearly as much of that revenue as they have in the past. Instead, middle-men and bottom-of-the-chain dealers are scooping up greater profits than ever before.

Of course, supply is up huge these days, too, as more Californians than ever are becoming marijuana farmers, and states like Colorado are quickly rising as major producers of quality pot, which ultimately takes export business away from California.

California Pot is vacuum sealed in bags for export

Kym Kemp (who we think is awesome), recently stated that prices are actually up this year compared with last year, but we believe that, in the big picture, she is incorrect, and that her report reveals more about the isolated and pocketed nature of the marijuana industry in California, where there are so many tiny little markets and circles of growers and buyers that it is difficult, if not impossible, to step back far enough to see the overall trends affecting widespread producers and consumers.

Regardless, you may be wondering what we at Humboldt County News think of all this. Sure, that makes us sound cocky and self-important, but the statement is based on the volume of hateful comments and threatening emails we routinely receive in response to this blog. Well, here goes.

Because we do know honest, good-hearted (and even income tax-paying!) marijuana growers who are being negatively affected by this trend in bulk pricing, we feel a bit bad for those guys and their families. But that sentiment is outweighed by the satisfaction we get from knowing that the brute force of the market is actually creating serious competition among growers. Why is that satisfying? Because it means there is less room for greed, less room for all the douchebags and assholes who spent the last decade or so reaping insane profits, driving up housing costs for the rest of us and essentially reducing the quality of life for normal taxpaying citizens.

As bulk prices fall and supplies increase, buyers will no longer settle for sub-par product. And that means those growers with real gardening skills, who are in the game to produce a high quality product for patients and operate a legitimate and sustainable business, will have little trouble selling their goods, while those who aren't actually good gardeners and just got into the business to make some easy money will find that the benefits no longer outweigh the costs. Yes, many "good people" are getting caught in the crossfire of this competitive market, but, well, thems the breaks I guess. What we like about this consequence is that, in general, the douchebags who are causing real problems in our community are way more likely to be in the bulk production business rather than the high quality, extra-care-taken-on-a-daily-basis-in-the-garden-to-produce-the-best-pot-possible business. Competition is always good.

And finally, we are greatly anticipating Kym Kemp's upcoming audio series, The Humboldt Chronicles, which will explore some of the unseen angles of Humboldt County's marijuana industry.




Pot Growers Screwing the Rest of Us >>

By Kym Kemp, on Jan 30, 2012 - 22:56
Prices had a upswing last fall but I have to say that the prices I'm hearing now are again dropping. (But each watershed/area has its own market.)

It was funny to come across my name in this piece as I was reading it as background for the talk part of The Humboldt Chronicles....

By fiber to the home construction, on Mar 30, 2012 - 2:26
Why would the price of marijuana dropping, Is it that the law of supply and demand applies in here? Is this legal or illegal? If illegal then maybe users of marijuana has shifted to a newer drugs in the market.

mukee lug

By crybaby, on Apr 18, 2012 - 9:48
TOO MANY GROWERS CREATED GLUT. GREED= GLUT.
THEN, NO GROWER WANTED TO GIVE BROKERS LOW ENOUGH PRICE SO THEY COULD COMPETE AT MARKET PLACE. AFTER STUBBORN GROWERS SAT ON HARVEST TOO LONG, THEY ENDED DRIVING TO MARKET THEMSELVES. THIS REDUCED GOING RATE WAY FAST. 38 BECAME 32 THEN 28, NOW MARKETPLACE, I HEARD FROM FRIENDS 22-26 FOR SD,OG. I.D. GROWERS COST BETWEEN 13-18 TO FINISH PRODUCT. ALL BECAUSE 215. IF IT NEVER WAS ADVERTISED NATIONWIDE THAT CALI IS THE PLACE YA WANNA BE, THE RACKED BROKE WOULDN'T OF FLOODED THE STATE, LIGHTING UP EVERY FREAKIN WHERE! AND THE ALL THE AFORE MENTIONED ABOVE WOULD NOT OF HAPPEN, LEAST NOT AS FAST.

By justin, on May 5, 2012 - 17:37
awesome comment mukee lug

david

By david, on May 6, 2012 - 6:46
Unless you are going to a club to sell, guys who really only run pounds back and forth to people, aren't buying the highest quality indoor for more than just the good quality stuff. The less you grow, the higher the quality tends to be, so I see really small growers either having to increase production, and watch quality diminish, or call it quits. I have seen some shops in the bay claiming to have only high quality, whose products still only looked to me like pretty good quality.

I have a feeling we have, and will see increasingly less really high quality indoor being grown and sold, and low quality outdoor. You will only see high quality from hobbyists, and most of them will just smoke it themselves.

michigan

By michigan, on Jun 24, 2012 - 16:57
id love to see some units here!!!!MICHIGAN!!!

Ex-grower

By Black Sheep, on Sep 3, 2012 - 19:15
Interesting article! I used to grow in Mendo county, spent 25 years dodging choppers and fixed-wing flyovers rented by the Sheriffs from Ukiah airport. It was tough to make a living in those days and I bet it hasn't changed all that much. Finally my land became worth so much that it made more sense to sell it than the dope I could grow on it. I do miss those days in the woods, though, rip-off tweaker neighbors and all. Man, there were sure some wild times over the years. Woohah!

Great blog!

By Harleynut, on Jan 10, 2013 - 17:52
Thank you for speaking the Truth. Sorry to hear all the crazy feedback. End the Drug war and Freedom of Choice.

Look at all these feds!

By Fed Watcher, on Mar 31, 2013 - 15:20
Man, is really is hilarious that feds are trolling the comments on this site (and others like it). Seriously, you think we're that stupid? Like we're going to email you about a "cali plug" and offer to sell you weed?

Fucking idiots.

prices of homes?

By www.cannahealth.com, on Aug 21, 2013 - 7:22
Growers dont drive up the prices of homes. That is a direct result of market manipulation. The feds are printing over 85 billion dollars amonth in fiat currenct. The amount of weed produced annully for consumption has a market vaklue of around 6 billion dollars..Lets just look at reality.. And also, that 6 billion in weed susposedly screwoing everyone..hahahahah,,HEY PEOPLE all that weed can be grown on 330 acres --- so all u need is one red neck tooth missing genius to plant his own 330 acres of weed and the wholesail price goes to half that... but for all those with any semblance of a clue the root cuase is this and not in this order,, nafta--- gaft--- glass stegal, the petro dollar and the fact the the crazies who run the world are actually trying to kill everyone... so ya lets blame the growers.. great idea!!
Peace love!
Scarcity is simply the misapplication of intelligence or the lack thereof. What we need to do is send the real criminals to jail hold them accountable for destroying shit -- like our freedom cause we are all scared ass sheep -- but them cab you blame a wolfe? We just put up with our enslavement... pathetic
Thanks!
www.cannahealth.com

By nv bud, on Oct 20, 2013 - 19:48
Get as real job rr

Organicmaster

By TopNotchGrower, on Feb 3, 2014 - 0:08
First off, kymkemp is a pancakeface, that repeats info as it comes in, she runs a repeater site!
Second, its all about your niche.
Kym can speculate on prices all she wants, she does not set them, again it all depends on your outlet!
Fuck the downplaying middle man! He can go suck an egg! And yo brooklin boy come to humboldt and go into our sleazy bars, make a connection there!

By Trump Is A Traitor, on Dec 29, 2017 - 21:54
I have as of yet never seen this issue debated locally with the consumers interests even taken into consideration! You know, the vast majority of people with a stake in the marijuana industry are consumers - not growers. Falling prices is good for consumers who have been paying severely inflated prices for this product for decades! Y'all old-time growers have already gotten paid bigly, without being required to pay any income taxes whatsoever (unlike the marijuana consumers). You are already way ahead of the game. Enjoy your financial success and largesse. And give the consumers a break for a change! Times change, and it is a fantastic development that pound prices are down. Hopefully that will continue in 2018. And here's the thing - the unemployment rate is 4% and employers are hiring, if you ever need a job. Some growers will price themselves out of the market and eventually as a result lose their business & have to become an employee, like most Americans.

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