Go East, Man: California Cannabis Seeks Fresh Markets
Meanwhile, LA author Mark Haskell Smith chronicles million-dollar marijuana strains in new book Baked.
By David Downs
Call it a reverse gold rush, but a "go east, young man" fever is gripping California marijuana growers, dispensary owners, consultants, and assorted industry members. The fever is rapidly transplanting the Golden State's best practices as well as its more dubious ones to Rhode Island, Michigan, Maine, and Colorado. But no state is really off limits.
"I think it's a natural development, because California has had fourteen years of experience developing medical cannabis," said leading Oakland dispensary owner Stephen DeAngelo. "The industry is more well developed here than anywhere else. If you want to get in on the ground floor, California is not the place to do it."
DeAngelo has been helping to open a dispensary in Rhode Island through his consultancy firm CannBe, comprised of an A-team of lawyers, marketers, managers, growers, and security. CannBe is also looking closely at work in Washington, DC and Oregon.
Similar to a counterinsurgency, the firm takes a low-profile approach, partnering with local forces to train them. For a fee, CannBe provides the advice and expertise to help craft laws, get them passed, and win dispensary permits. But other California groups are less sensitive.
Orange County-based Medical Marijuana Inc. made headlines last month when it rented out the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan for what it's calling the second-largest marijuana convention in the country. Advertising depicted a huge bud leaf erupting out of the stadium and a jack-o'-lantern with a joint in its mouth. Local newspapers called it a "pot party," and the local mayor and police chief went ballistic.
"They were really offended by that in a large way," said Medical Marijuana Inc. Vice President David Tobias. The company explained its intent to abide by all state laws, prevent smoking on-site, and tone down advertising. "We agreed to take the joint out of the pumpkin's mouth and take the marijuana bud off the Silverdome," said Tobias.
While California is hosting at least fifteen cannabis-related trade shows this year, Michigan has just three, and Tobias said the company continues to look east. "The ground floor is not in the saturated states like California or Colorado, it's the emerging states that have just passed their laws. Just as the hippies started in California and spread across the country, everything starts here. We'll be bringing the experts and the pioneers of that movement to help people go through the process."
Tobias shrugs off the local backlash, and says it helps publicity. CNN and USA Today covered the Silverdome brouhaha. "There is that kind of 'This is our territory' mentality," he said. "One club said, 'We don't want you from California coming here telling us what to do.' That's some dumbass idiot trying to protect their turf."
However, even a low-profile technique can generate complaints. California dispensary Berkeley Patients Group spun off into the Northeast Patients Group and partnered with locals to win four of the state's eight dispensary permits this summer. One Maine city just okayed Northeast Patients Group's first location. Meanwhile, several key activists see a conspiracy, and penned an open letter to the governor bashing the California influence.
"Our citizens should be concerned when interests from outside our local economy take the trouble to become self-appointed policy advisors to the government of Maine," stated the letter from the Maine Wellness Center signed by various groups, coalitions, and lobbyists. "The early journeys of a reverse gold rush have already occurred."
Berkeley Patients Group spokesperson Brad Senesac dismisses such provincialism. "It doesn't matter if it's cannabis or mayonnaise, people are going to have some sort of opinion," he said. "One location had two people picketing, that was it. Everybody should voice their opinion."
Still, Senesac says the California brand has legs: "KFC is from Kentucky. LA Fitness is all over the country, because people see people in LA as being fit. Does California have the best cannabis in the country? I would say yes, because I've traveled the country."
Easily one the most brazen attempts to capitalize on the California brand comes from Oakland hydroponic supply company iGrow, which has rebranded itself WeGrow and switched from a retail megastore to a franchise company. WeGrow officials say they have sixty deposits of $25,000 each granting exclusive territory to WeGrow store developers. All of Colorado is sold, says WeGrow co-founder Derek Peterson.
WeGrow plans on converting its retail location near the Oakland Airport into a franchise template, with a no-bud version for stores in states where medical marijuana is still illegal. Peterson says the market is indeed going east. "I think that's exactly true," he said. "At the end of the day, when medical marijuana is legal in even more states, California is always going to be the gold standard from a product standpoint, and a pioneering standpoint. The founding businesses will always have that cachet from being the original ones in the market."
Seeds & Stems
Funny, naughty, and hyper-contemporary, hard-boiled summer read Baked follows Miro, breeder of hit marijuana strain Elephant Crush, as he wins the High Times Cannabis Cup and ends up shot in a gangland dispensary dispute. Los Angeles novelist Mark Haskell Smith reads from his fourth book at Booksmith (1644 Haight St., SF) on Wednesday, September 15, at 7:30 p.m. Read our interview with Smith as he talks strains, gangs, and Prop 19 on the Legalization Nation blog.
Comments (2)
Showing 1-2 of 2
Those who oppose Medicinal Cannabis should be really ashamed of themselves. There were several scientific studies published just recently that confirmed Cannabis effectiveness in such diverse conditions as chronic pain, muscle spasms, malnutrition and glaucoma. Cannabis is also being shown by the most current addiction medicine research as a potential "exit" substance for former alcoholics, hard drug or even prescription drug abusers to help them stay off those substances. A very recent study just published called the so-called "gateway drug" theory "half-baked". I simply always called it a fantasy. Both the American Medical Association and the Institute of Medicine are in favor of Medicinal Cannabis, and the Canadian Government even pays for this natural remedy for their veterans! There is growing evidence that Cannabis may help prevent such disastrous conditions as cancer and Alzheimer's disease, and a very recent study just published denies any connection between smoking Cannabis and the risk for lung cancer! According to the prestigious Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook, 4-th Edition, Cannabis use suppresses violent behavior and "only the unsophisticated" think otherwise.
What we all need to do is reject these baseless, anti-scientific scare tactics of the "opponents" and pass the Medicinal Cannabis legislation all across the Nation, not just in California or Arizona!
like
dislike
Passage of the CA Proposition 19 will deal a serious blow to the Mexican drug cartels and to the "drug war" in general. It will also restore sanity to the California State budget by collecting sizable Cannabis revenues and eliminating the wasteful spending on the so-called anti-Cannabis "enforcement". It is established by the science of addiction medicine that the so-called "gateway drug" theory, advanced by the opponents of the measure is a complete fantasy, as is the assertion that Cannabis is "physically addictive". Cannabis is NOT physically addictive, as there is no clearly definable and reproducible PHYSICAL withdrawal syndrome, associated with its use, as opposed to truly physically addictive substances such as opiates or alcohol. In fact, the latest addiction medicine research reveals that Cannabis may serve as an "exit" substance with the potential of helping former alcoholics or hard drug users to abstain from alcohol, hard drugs, or even dangerous and physically addictive prescription drugs! It is also being established that Cannabis use may help prevent such serious illnesses as cancer and Alzheimer's disease! Cannabis use also suppresses violent urges and behaviors. Let's not be intimidated by the scare-tactics of the "opponents", but be motivated instead by science, reason and understanding of these issues, and this means voting YES on California Proposition 19 on November 2!
Latest in Legalization Nation
-
Use Cannabis? There's an App for That
There's been an explosive growth in smartphone app usage, despite federal finger-wagging over marijuana.
- Feb 8, 2012
-
Finding Your Own Shambhala
"Flights" of Kush and potent Dutch Treat C02 hash are hiding in plain sight in the Mission.
- Feb 1, 2012
-
What the Funk?
Terpenes take off in labs, drug companies, and dispensaries.
- Jan 25, 2012
- More »
Author Archives
-
Use Cannabis? There's an App for That
There's been an explosive growth in smartphone app usage, despite federal finger-wagging over marijuana.
- Feb 8, 2012
-
Finding Your Own Shambhala
"Flights" of Kush and potent Dutch Treat C02 hash are hiding in plain sight in the Mission.
- Feb 1, 2012
- More»
