cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Canada's Most Valuable Product





Marijuana Canada's Most Valuable Product
Posted by CN Staff on November 03, 2003 at 19:24:20 PT
By Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles
Source: Guardian Unlimited UK
Investors who rely for advice on Forbes, the highly regarded American business magazine, will be tipped off this month about the industry that is now outpacing many others in North America: marijuana growing. The magazine's cover story focuses on "the unstoppable economics of a booming business" and claims marijuana is now Canada's most valuable agricultural product, ahead of wheat, cattle and timber.
In the Canadian province of British Columbia, Forbes suggests, the industry is generating US$7bn (£4bn) annually, with signs of growing because of the changing legal climate. "Canadian dope, boosted by custom nutrients, high-intensity metal halide lights and 20 years of breeding, is five times as potent as what Americans smoked in the 1970s," it reports. As a result, Canadian-grown marijuana is selling for as much as $2,700 a pound wholesale. By the time that pound has come down to Los Angeles, it is sold at around $6,000, says Forbes. What makes the industry so powerful, suggests Forbes, is that the growers are "not a small coterie of drug lords who could be decimated with a few well-targeted prosecutions, but an army of ordinary folks". Small growers look to bring in $900 a pound, with net profit margins ranging from 55% to 90%, reports the magazine, something that places marijuana alongside some of the dotcom enterprises in terms of return on investment percentages. Marijuana is also a growth industry in terms of jobs, with people earning $15 an hour for trimming the dried flowers and consultants earning $40 an hour to help inexperienced growers get started. The relaxation of the laws surrounding marijuana in Canada has led to increased confidence in the industry. Canada, which has legalised cannabis for medical use, has authorised a company to grow marijuana for this purpose. In the US, law enforcement against marijuana growers remains much stricter. Complete Title: Marijuana Canada's Most Valuable Agricultural ProductSource: Guardian Unlimited, The (UK)Author: Duncan Campbell in Los AngelesPublished: Tuesday, November 4, 2003Copyright: 2003 Guardian Newspapers LimitedContact: letters guardian.co.ukWebsite: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmGrow Ops Sprout Across Countryhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17723.shtmlSuburbanizing Organized Crime http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17710.shtmlInside Dope - Forbes Magazinehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17670.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #19 posted by jose melendez on November 05, 2003 at 03:16:12 PT
Rev. Adler
My college, UMASS, has applied for DEA approval to grow 25 lbs. of medicinal marijuana. Asa Hutchinson predictably turned them down, recently Senators Kerry and Kennedy requested approval.Any other monopoly would have been investigated by the S.E.C. or D.O.J.I guess since they are bribed by poison manufacturers and the incarceration industry, it's easy for law makers and enforcers to be corrupt.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #18 posted by Rev Jonathan Adler on November 04, 2003 at 22:27:12 PT:
Why are we BEHIND?
Howzit frrom Hilo, Why are we falling so far BEHIND?
England has it going on outside London (40,000 plants) at GW
. Canada has it going on underground (2.75 Metric Tonnes) at
Prairie Plants and we here in America have nada. Nuttin:'
No facility approved, except maybe that church in Hawaii that the court agreed was valid? Someone has to pick this ball up and run with it. We are qualified and ready now. Please someone out there with some major clout. Contact us soon and let's start a legal INDUSTRY! Our University is ready, out state has over a thousand registered patients and we have some of the world's best genetics right on site.
Are they willing to make some progress and support freedom too? Are they ready to heal the planet? Can they be free?
I am. Peace! Rev. Jonathan Adler/ East Hawaii ROJC
Hawaii Medical Marijuana Insitute
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #17 posted by FoM on November 04, 2003 at 12:46:40 PT
ekim
Thank you! I just tried the video link again and I still can't get it to work. Hopefully later on it will work. I'd like to see it.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #16 posted by ekim on November 04, 2003 at 09:34:39 PT
happy B day Fom
Inside Dope 
Posted by CN Staff on October 24, 2003 at 22:33:35 PT
By Quentin Hardy 
Source: Forbes Magazine  
http://www.cannabisnews.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/cnews/newsread.plMr. hardy said his mail has been running 8-1 in favor of decrim. mostly conservative he said. He thought most must have smoked when they were younger and now want change. He took calls for a half hour and only one lady from FL. said she did not want drug dealing in her neighborhood, everyother call was against the drug war. The med issue was brought up, the link with prohibition and violent crime was talked about, the money in lost taxes, Canada's live and let live attitude was mentioned a lot. Quentin said that around 7 billion was the number on Canadian grown Cannabis while also saying that the mountys are going after the gangs that have caused much violence, not the small growers.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #15 posted by FoM on November 04, 2003 at 08:49:52 PT
jsm
This link should be the show but it doesn't work for me. I hope it works for someone.http://video.c-span.org:8080/ramgen/odrive/15days/wj110403_hardy.rm
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by FoM on November 04, 2003 at 08:32:03 PT
420eh 
Yes he is a Canadian! All good actors and musicians come from Canada I believe. I like him because he sings what he wants and says in his songs what he believes. Right or wrong I don't think he cares. I like that way of thinking in a person and particularly in a musician. I know he isn't from LA. My geography isn't good. Maybe Susan Sarandon would be a good spokesperson for MPP.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by FoM on November 04, 2003 at 08:20:12 PT
Thank You!
schmeff, kapt and oh yeah goneposthole thank you! I'll sing a song since you can't sing kapt!You load 16 tons and whaddaya get??another day older and deeper in debtSaint Peter don'tcha call me 'Cause-
I can't go...I owe my soul to the CNews Weed War
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by goneposthole on November 04, 2003 at 07:18:23 PT
supply and demand
Demand is what makes cannabis a number one cash crop. Supply means someone is willing to take the risks to grow it to meet the demand. Supply and demand means business. 'Every business has a particle of risk'Oh yeah, happy birthday, FoM
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by jsm on November 04, 2003 at 06:26:07 PT
Alert
C-Span...Washington Journal...Frobes magazine article being discussed....
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by 420eh on November 04, 2003 at 06:20:33 PT
Neil's Canadian
in the article that FoM has linked here, it mentions about getting someone from LA to be a MPP representive....one suggestion here mentions Neil Young. Neil knows where his roots are and they started in the small town of Omemee 
(o-me-me) Ontario Canada. i'm sure residents there would be happy to have him as the spokesman.420eh
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by kaptinemo on November 04, 2003 at 06:02:33 PT:
And one more thing:
I wonder what Mr. Randy White, unregistered American prohib lobbyist-without-portfolio/Canadian MP, feels about having his best lapdog efforts to bring the Washington Windbag to Canada to be 'heard' feels about Johnny Pee's less than dignified refusal?Would you like a paper towel for that spittle he deposited on your face, Mr. White? Or will you just use your tongue and smile afterwards?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by kaptinemo on November 04, 2003 at 05:52:52 PT:
Johnny Pee showing his true color...yellow.
Rather fitting, no?It's obvious that he knew he would be put on the spot by those MP's who know bloody well the entire framework of cannabis prohibition is constructed of falsehoods, hysteria and racial bigotry...and that he'd be challenged on them, in public, far from his power base. He knew he'd receive what Canadian prohibs got courtesy of having their BS exposed as just that, as was done by Canadian Senator Nolin in his enquiry.If Johnny Pee were a dog, we'd be hearing "yipe! yipe! yipe!" from him as he ran home with tail between legs.Pathetic. And *this* is supposed to represent the US to the world? 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by Kegan on November 04, 2003 at 05:39:35 PT
News
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/OttawaSun/News/2003/11/04/245970.htmlCanadian police chiefs and officers have joined forces with Mothers Against Drunk Driving in demanding the federal government dump its proposed law to decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot. "There are too many serious flaws in this bill and the approach advocated by the government to deal with the plague of marijuana is altogether heading in the wrong direction," Tony Cannavino, president of the Canadian Professional Police Association, said yesterday. Cannavino said one of the biggest problems with the proposed law is it fails to give the country's cops the ability to decide whether to lay a charge or issue a ticket. Those caught with under 15 grams of pot would be issued a ticket, but not charged. MADD executive director Andrew Murie said passing the bill is premature because police don't yet have the tools to combat toking and driving. _____________________________U.S. drug czar won't testify about marijuana law reformhttp://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=d13e4e3d-b815-
4491-af34-b0603f996b6fWhite House drug czar John Walters, who accused Canada of "reefer madness"
for moving to decriminalize marijuana possession, has rejected an invitation
to appear before MPs to put his grievances on the record.
Several other Americans also turned down invitations to testify at a Commons
committee this week as it concludes public hearings on the decriminalization
bill.
Mr. Walters, the White House's director of national drug policy, has been
vocal in his opposition to Canada's proposed law, saying most recently that
Canada is "the one place in the hemisphere where things are going wrong
rapidly."
After more than a week of haggling, the committee decided late last week to
invite him to appear so he could share the U.S. concerns about the law.
Tom Riley, Mr. Walter's public affairs spokesman, said his boss has been
clear about what he thinks of Canada's proposed law so he sees no need to
come north once again to repeat his position.
"I think Director Walters has always been very consistent and clear about
this," said Mr. Riley. "He's gone up there a number of times, he's been on
TV, he's met with Canadian officials here to emphasize that this is a
serious concern for the U.S. But obviously Canadians have to decide for
themselves what kind of future on the drug issue they want."
Justice Minister Martin Cauchon is aiming for the bill to pass in Parliament
before the end of the month, said his spokesman, Mike Murphy.
But it is widely expected Parliament will not return after it recesses at
the end of the week for the Liberal leadership convention.____________________________
Police chiefs slam `flawed' pot bill
Chrétien urged to scrap marijuana plan Legislation faces hurdlesin Parliament
TONDA MACCHARLES
OTTAWA BUREAUhttp://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Artic
le_Type1&c=Article&cid=1067901016350&call_pageid=968332188492&col=9687058990
37OTTAWA—A unified front of Canada's police chiefs and rank-and-file officers
called on Prime Minister Jean Chrétien yesterday to kill what they said is a
"seriously flawed" marijuana decriminalization bill. 
The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Canadian Professional
Police Association, joined by representatives of Mothers Against Drunk
Driving (MADD), condemned the Liberal government's effort to fast-track the
bill that would soften penalties for simple marijuana possession offences. 
"I think we would be better without it than with it in its present form,"
Toronto deputy police chief Mike Boyd, who also chairs the chiefs'
drug-abuse committee, told a hearing of the special parliamentary committee
studying the bill. 
Critics on the other side of the issue — those who support greater
liberalization of marijuana laws — also slammed the bill and said the status
quo would be preferable to what's now being rushed through Parliament as a
piece of Chrétien's "legacy" agenda. 
Eugene Oscapella, of the Canadian Foundation for a Drug Policy, said the
government is afraid of political fallout and has skirted the real problem —
that criminal prohibition of pot creates the black market that fuels the
profits of organized crime and terrorist organizations. 
 `I think we would be better without it (the bill) than with it in its
present form.' Mike Boyd, Toronto deputy police chief 	
"I think the bill in its present form should die. I would much rather rely
on the courts in this country to provide a better solution and depoliticize
the issue," said Oscapella. 
The combined assault on the bill may not block its passage through a special
Commons committee, which is expected to finish its report late tomorrow. 
But there are real questions now about whether it will pass the final two
Commons votes, and Senate examination, before Parliament rises, or another
election is held. 
The reality is the federal government is running out of time and allies to
push its bill forward, and the Supreme Court of Canada may well be left to
decide the issue, because a judgment is pending on three challenges to the
country's pot laws heard in May. 
The national police chiefs association once supported a more lenient
approach to simple possession offences, but now says it opposes the pot bill
because it takes away police discretion to lay charges for small amounts of
marijuana — an option police say is needed to deter traffickers and repeat
offenders. 
The proposed law would impose tickets and fines from $250 to $400, instead
of a criminal charge for possession of less than 15 grams of cannabis.
Police representatives also condemned as "ridiculous" the lack of funding
for better police training, treatment and rehabilitation programs in the
proposed $245-million, five-year drug strategy. 
Sources suggest Justice Minister Martin Cauchon may offer to lower the
amount of "personal use" pot from 15 grams to 10 grams and increase
penalties for repeat offenders.___________________
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on November 04, 2003 at 05:28:01 PT:
I won't ruin the day by my (awful) singing
(I may have been a drill instructor, but still can't carry a tune in a sack.)So I'll just wish you a Happy Birthday, FoM! May you have many more!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by schmeff on November 04, 2003 at 01:33:49 PT
FOM
May I take this opportunity to wish you a very happy birthday? Cheers!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by freedom fighter on November 03, 2003 at 23:44:13 PT
It's truly nice to
be overgrown by plants that do not cause harm to anything.pazff
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by FoM on November 03, 2003 at 21:40:09 PT
Any Suggestions on a Celebrity?
I can only think of Neil Young because I have a one track mind but I don't think he'd do it even though he is definitely pro pot. I don't have any ideas at all.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/buzz.htm
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by Virgil on November 03, 2003 at 21:32:15 PT
Is this guy on glue?
Investors who rely for advice on ForbesHow about "Investors that rely on advice from from Forbes"Now I might not be much on English English, but generally if you are trying to inform someone of something you do not have one sentence paragraphs. In this article 8 out of 10 paragraphs have only one sentence and the other two have only two. I cannot figure out if he wants to include this in his submission for a job at the Washington Post or if he is on glue. Read this article again and see the important points he touches and how little informing he does. He did not even mention the author of the work in the Forbes' article. The article is better than silence but it still sucks. I cannot believe an editor let that out. The story is the fact that Forbes is one of the few magazines to break the imposed silence on the subject of cannabis and that they now join Playboy, Rolling Stone, and Time in Canada as the few and the proud. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by FoM on November 03, 2003 at 20:18:21 PT
Here's An Article To Check Out
I wasn't able to get into the web site to make sure this is complete but here is what I put on the page.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/buzz.htm
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment