Gravity_Loss

Whats up everyone? After living through a miserable 11 months in Kansas having to decide between having a job and being sick or smoking pot and being unemployed, I have come to the decision a lot of people come to but never follow through. I'm getting into the MMJ field.

I enrolled in Argosy University of Seattle and will be starting my BS in Criminal Justice come early May. I will be on track to graduate sometime around summer 2014 and will be doing everything I can to get into the Washington University School of Law. I'm a little undecided on where I want to go from there though. I am split between being a MMJ defense attorney or trying to get a job as a lobbyist for organizations like NORML.

There isn't very much information out there for careers in marijuana, so I have been looking for some community help. I have been sending Marc and Jodie Emery letters asking for guidance, but neither have responded yet. I know Marc's incoming mail doesn't always make it to him and Jodie is probably busy as shit right now, so I'm not too worried about an immediate response. I've also written letters to lawyers in Seattle and British Columbia, senators, congressmen, President Barack Obama, and every other person I can find that has some sort of name in the marijuana business.

More or less I am looking for advice and networking with important people in the industry. It seems like activists would be all about helping a new pot friendly lawyer get onto the scene, but responses have been kind of scarce. If anyone could suggest people I should contact, give guidance, or show support, please feel free. Like I said there isn't a lot of info on the subject and I need some sort of role model for success.

Points to note before you respond:

1) I know there isn't a lot of money in it. I want to get into the field for many reasons, but money isn't one of them. Why would I leave a city where mids are $17-$20 a gram when kind is $10-$15 a gram from a Seattle club. If I wanted money, I would stay in Kansas and overcharge for shitty pot to college kids and foreign exchange students.

2) I know this path is expensive, but my undergraduate degree is already paid for (GI Bill). While in school, my girlfriend and I will be setting aside money for law school and I am eligible for multiple grants and scholarships.

3) I'm not doing this for recognition. I'd be willing to do this job without anyone ever seeing my face or knowing my name, as long as I know that something I did directly made marijuana a more acceptable substance in the United States.

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Genesis 1:29
And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the Earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”

Reason is the mind's awarness of itself. --- Zen ..)

AlteredStateGrl

wait. wat?

don't you already have a thread about this? or maybe not.

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*The sweetest kittens have the sharpest claws.*

Gravity_Loss

Completely different thread. That was me asking for help with FAA drug testing. I have since abandoned my FFA licensing and have started a career in law. The replies associated with that thread have no realistic application to this thread, so feel free to lock or delete the old one.

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Genesis 1:29
And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the Earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”

Reason is the mind's awarness of itself. --- Zen ..)

Gravity_Loss

Also the best advice I received on the other thread was "start your own business", which in all honestly is a horrible idea if you have the money and experience that I do.

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Genesis 1:29
And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the Earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”

Reason is the mind's awarness of itself. --- Zen ..)

AlteredStateGrl

it's two different threads, so, it's cool. initially i thought they were basically the same. until i realized maybe not.

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*The sweetest kittens have the sharpest claws.*

kitch

we will reach a point
where those who grow cannabis
will be justly paid

I hope that there comes a point where the farmers will be able to earn a living on the books as easily as farmers who grow corn with no corruption between them and the consumers.

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Gravity_Loss

When farmers are legally able to grow, weed prices will hit rock bottom. Not because there will be more pot in circulation, but because we cannot realistically pay the average farmer what his crop is worth in street prices.

The average farm in Kansas is between 500 and 1,000 acres. Lets low ball it and say the average farm is 500 acres. An acre is 43,560 square feet. From what I can tell by driving by most farms, an individual plant has a 2-4 square feet. Since marijuana is legal in this hypothetical scenario, we would assume that the farmers are highly trained and use the best material/equipment, so we could safely assume 3oz per plant outdoors, minimum.

Lets play this out to the LEAST amount of money a harvest would make with these figures. The farmer has 500 acres with 1 plant for every 4 square feet, equaling 10,890 plants. If the farmer produces 3 ounces per plant, he would end up with 32,680 ounces or 914,760 grams. In this are of Kansas, mids go around $17/gram (very high, I know) but lets compare it to street prices where weed is cheap. Kind out of a dispensory in Seattle is around $10/gram.

SOOOOOOOO, in conclusion, if a farmer legally grew marijuana in the smallest average field with the most space in between them and they all produced the least averaged amount of bud per plant, and selling the weed at the cheapest average prices, the farmer would make $9,147,600 per harvest.

If you could legally grow pot right now and the prices didn't budge, you would EASILY be clearing $10 million a year with an average size farm. If marijuana was legalized and the price stayed steady, the economy would completely fail. Everyone would be buying property like it was going out of style and start growing marijuana.

The cost of 1 ton of bagged corn averages less than $150, so for farmers to have a reason to keep their crop and not grow marijuana, pot would have to cost $0.00015 per gram directly from the farmer.

When the time comes to make marijuana legal, I wouldn't doubt an agricultural recession. Most farmers are going to be chomping at the bit to start growing pot because it will pay way better than them growing food.

Edit: Believe it or not, this was written stone cold sober, lol.

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Genesis 1:29
And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the Earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”

Reason is the mind's awarness of itself. --- Zen ..)

kitch

and then...

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Gravity_Loss

We live happily ever after.

Is anyone on this site in the legal pot industry? I've asked a lot of questions and the only answers I seem to get are from people on the illegal side.

I think I'll call NORML tomorrow.

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Genesis 1:29
And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the Earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”

Reason is the mind's awarness of itself. --- Zen ..)

AlteredStateGrl

Legal side? Yes. There's a handful of "legals", if you will, around here. Possibly more. All with varying perspectives as to where we are on the legal side though. Consumers, growers, retailers etc.

Yes. Calling Norml would be a good thing to do.

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*The sweetest kittens have the sharpest claws.*

Gravity_Loss

I'm not necessarily looking for people who legally smoke or grow, but people who are on the LEGAL side of the business, as in law as well as people following it. Any lawyers, politicians, activists, or anyone with public experience in the legalization movement.

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Genesis 1:29
And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the Earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”

Reason is the mind's awarness of itself. --- Zen ..)

DrGreens

It's becoming more and more progressive now, I prediect within the next 10 years the MM industry will start to mature into something very large and accepted.

NorcalCarl

3 oz per plant seems like a very high outdoor estimate to me. I thought average yield was about 1-1.5 oz Im sure someone on here knows.
Hopefully pot doesn't end up like corn with most of the money not going to the farmers.

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There is no charge for awesomeness-

Don't ever forget to love thyself-

Roach

no law degrees floating around yahooka that I'm aware of.

There are a few activist group representatives that post here, (NORML is one) but that will not get you access to a law library.

a career in law sounds good, if your planning on working and living in America, you're practically guaranteed a reasonably good job.

Can't say that for the cannabis industry, unless you have relatives in Mexico.

In the last 40 years of using marijuana, I've not seen any movement on reclassification of it, and that would have to happen before legalization on a national level will ever be considered.

your best bet would be to PM your contact information to one of this sites mods/admin(s).... They can forward it to the sites owner , who probably can/will ?...point/PM you in the right direction.


...probably towards Denver

This link leads to several groups working the "legal side"(s) of marijuana.

Ed's Drug Policy Links

or

Green Aid: The Marijuana Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. .............Green Aid: The Medical Marijuana Legal Defense and Education Fund

ASA : Advancing Legal Medical Marijuana Therapeutics and Research ......Americans for Safe Access

The Independent Institute .....The Independent Institute

http://www.lindesmith.org/ .....Drug Policy Alliance

MAPS: Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies ........Multidiscipl inary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)

DRCNet Online Library of Drug Policy .......Online Library of Drug Policy

The Drug Reform Coordination Network ............Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet)

http://www.harmreduction.org/program.html .....Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC)

Marijuana Policy Project - Home ........Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)

An Action Forum of the Global Anti-Prohibition Movement ........Action Forum of the Global Anti-Prohibition Movement

Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics .....Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics

http://www.ukcia.org/cannabis.php ....UK Cannabis Internet Activists (UKCIA)

ReconsiDer: A Forum on Drug Policy ....Canadian Foundation For Drug Policy

Legalize ....Reconsider: Forum on Drug Policy

http://www.newparty.org/ ....The New Party

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party - Tick the Leaf ....Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (New Zealand)


provided on Ed Rosenthal's site.

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לזיין את הקופים

Roach

If you didn't already know....

Ed Rosenthal is recognized worldwide as a leading authority on marijuana. In his more than 30 years as the "guru of ganja," he has written or edited more than a dozen books about marijuana cultivation and social policy that cumulatively have sold more than one million copies. One of his books on marijuana cultivation is the only book of its type to be reviewed by the New York Times.

He was one of the original American writers to travel to Holland, bringing European knowledge and sophistication about cannabis to the US through his books and columns. Rosenthal currently teaches horticulture at Oaksterdam University, the leading trade school for the cannabis industry. His classes teach how to use the latest equipment along with lessons for the best growing techniques.

Rosenthal views marijuana law as a crucial social issue. Ed has served as an expert witness on marijuana cultivation in federal and state trials and has been very active in promoting and developing policies of civil regulation for marijuana. His commentary on issues such as Proposition 19, the legalize, tax and regulate Cannabis bill on the 2010 California ballot, can be viewed on his blog:
Ed Rosenthal

In 2003 Rosenthal was tried in Federal Court for cultivation. He was convicted by a jury that was not allowed to hear that he was deputized by the City of Oakland to provide marijuana for patients - an omission that later caused his jurors to denounce their verdict. His trial shifted public opinion in favor of State medical marijuana laws.

Rosenthal serves as the Executive Director of Green Aid: The Medical Marijuana Legal Defense and Education Fund. Currently Green Aid is challenging the use of SWAT- team force in a marijuana arrest in Columbia, MO and the right for cannabis patients to transport their medicine in airports: Green Aid: The Marijuana Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.

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לזיין את הקופים

Roach

Marc is a member here

several of us remember him fondly, and wish him and his familly all the best.

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