MMJ: Caliweed Ahead

California is supposed to have recreational weed for sale in like three months. Do you think the state will be ready? - Canthard Lee-Waithe

Probably. The state has done a good job so far. The California Bureau of Cannabis Control has already started allowing cannabusinesses to apply for temporary licenses. Applicants must already have the proper city and zoning permits in place. (For more info: cannabis.ca.gov.)

Some cities will be ready, others may not be. San Francisco is smashing the game, with all kinds of dispensaries and social clubs up and running. Oakland is doing well, and is actively working to make sure new cannabusinesses maintain cultural diversity. Monterey County will probably be ready, but I feel like their high fees – $15 per square foot for a garden? – will squeeze out smaller growers.

Let’s do some quick math: 1,000 square feet will net you about 6 pounds if you have no pests or other problems. The price of cannabis is gonna plummet, so figure about $2,000 a pound for indoor if you grow great weed – that means the first crop goes to the tax collector. A good room will create maybe five harvests (figure a 10-week cycle), so after you pay all the trimmers, lawyers, accountants and marketing people, there isn’t much left.

Sacramento seems to be setting up well (but some of their fees are just as high as Monterey’s). Fresno continues to suck.

Hopefully, California will have plenty of weed for all the tourists. Fortunately, this year’s harvest looks to be spectacular.

I hear we can’t smoke weed at the beach anymore. How the hell am I supposed to enjoy the sunset? - Green Flash

Yeah. There are two bills on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk now (SB 386 and AB 725) making it illegal to smoke anything (including vapes!) on a state beach. Meh. I get it. Weed and cigarettes are stinky and many folks don’t want to expose their kids to stinky smoke. Tobacco smokers never seem to dispose of their butts properly.

By the time this goes to print, Brown may have already signed them into law, but so what? This is one of those “easy to pass, hard to enforce” deals. Use common sense, don’t blaze a pack of blunts near kids, and keep an eye for the cops while you enjoy your sunset. You will be fine. And remember to carry out all of your trash, including butts.