Not All It Was Cracked Up to Be

Mid-peninsulans have to go to SF or SJ for weed.

Think of the industries that started off small and have grown big, i.e., video streaming, fracking, ride-sharing, online shopping, organic farming, etc. They each have unique features, but one characteristic they all shared initially is a very light touch by government.

During the early stages employment, income tax, and environmental laws are less stringent for small businesses because society gives them a chance to prove themselves in the marketplace. Ill effects (e.g., pollution) become more apparent as the businesses get larger, at which point regulation may be appropriate.

But there's been no such incubation period for legalized marijuana, which had taxes and regulations imposed from the beginning. Politicians' starry eyes turned bloodshot as visions of plentiful tax revenues vanished in a puff of smoke:

high prices, red tape and competition from the black market have cast a pall over what was supposed to be a triumphant first year of recreational sales.

The cost of legalization was so high in 2018 that hundreds of growers and retailers went out of business, the number of available products spiraled down, tax revenues from sales fell below projections and the black market revved up, according to industry officials and business representatives.

...Meanwhile, growers say, the cost of being in the business is astronomical. Business licenses cost anywhere from $1,205 for a permit to grow 25 outdoor plants to $77,905 for a 22,000-square-foot indoor plantation. Growers and manufacturers also have to pay for lab testing to assure regulators that the marijuana is free of pesticides, chemicals and toxins.

Packaging is another big expense. All smokable and edible cannabis must be in child-resistant containers and affixed with labels that outline potency and dosage amounts. There are also strict protocols on how to transport, distribute and dispose of excess or defective marijuana.

Legalizing marijuana was a favored objective of the educated class in California. It would reduce prison overcrowding from a "victimless" crime and raise oodles of tax boodle.

Like other industries favored by the educated (solar energy, recycling, public transportation), reality showed that they could only limp along if they had government intervention, subsidies, or both. And if you're in an industry that the educated don't favor (big energy, big pharma, big tech, big agriculture, big finance, or for that matter big anything) the handwriting is on the wall.

Get out. Now.