Marijuana growers in California thriving during recession

[Enishi]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28354324/

Pot growers thrive in Northern California

Cash crop now accounts for two-thirds of Mendocino County economy

Video

State law boosts pot as a cash crop

Jan. 21 - Mendocino marijuana expert and Grow magazine publisher Eric Sligh toured a backyard garden with CNBC's Trish Regan. Northern California's 'Emerald Triangle' has become a fertile site for entrepreneurs who are permitted by state law to harvest a limited amount of marijuana for personal and medical use.

MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif. - Two hours from San Francisco, Northern California’s Mendocino County is a world away from the urban bustle. At first glance, it’s a picture postcard of the far West. But beneath its beauty lies a controversial, profitable and increasingly violent criminal enterprise.

The marijuana trade is an exploding underground industry. Marijuana is being grown in homes, backyards, even in our national parks.

Since the 1960s, the so-called Emerald Triangle — Northern California's Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties — has increasingly become the haven for people looking to make a living growing marijuana.

Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here

“This is ground zero for marijuana. Nobody produces any better marijuana than we do right here,” said Dan Offield, a helicopter pilot and agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, as he examines the area from a bird’s-eye view.

Perhaps no one knows that better than Ukiah Morrison, a Mendocino pot grower. In most places, he would be considered an outlaw, but not in this neck of the woods.

“This is as natural as growing corn to me,” he said. “This is the lifeblood of the county. And it has been for more than 30 years.”

Morrison walks a fine line. He grows as much marijuana as he can without triggering a legal crackdown. He can do that because authorities here are overwhelmed by the sheer number of growers. They’re also hampered by conflicting state, federal and county laws governing marijuana.

Marijuana is the major cash crop here. A county-commissioned study reports pot accounts for up to two-thirds of the local economy.

“I don’t think there’s anything more important in this economy. To take this out would be a major blow,” said Morrison.

Though reliable numbers are hard to come by, marijuana growers in Mendocino County generate an estimated $1 billion a year. That makes the area home to a sizable chunk of a national market for marijuana believed to be in the tens of billions of dollars.

Mendocino local Eric Sligh took CNBC on a tour of one backyard garden.

“These marijuana plants in Mendocino County can sometimes reach 14, 15, 20 feet,” he said. A plant that yields about two pounds would be worth about $5,000, said Sligh; his crop of 20 plants is potentially worth $100,000.

Sligh’s expertise in marijuana led him to publish Grow, a magazine that represents just how far the marijuana business has come. His magazine displays photos that provide an extraordinary glimpse into a drug-based economy.

“For people who live in these areas, marijuana as a topic deserves a larger forum,” he said. “The publication that I’ve put together has definitely been referred to as ‘marijuana porn.’”

CNBC special report

Marijuana Inc.

CNBC's Trish Regan takes a look at the booming marijuana trade in northern California's 'Emerald Triangle' thanks to a state law legalizing the harvest of limited quantities of pot (all times Eastern).

There’s a reason California is experiencing such a marijuana boom. First, state law allows anyone to grow a limited amount of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Secondly, there’s been an increase in border security since the 9/11 terror attacks, which has cut supplies from foreign sources. The result is an ever-increasing demand for Mendocino’s finest.

While California state law permits residents to grow a small number of pot plants, federal law still bans pot growing. But growers like Sligh say marijuana has become more like any legitimate agricultural commodity like grapes, wheat, even coffee.

“There’s a very developed system of brokering marijuana that exists all throughout California; it’s just like a commodities broker on Wall Street,” he said. “They’re getting it for the lowest price they can get it, and they’re bringing in the buyer and trying to get the buyer to pay the highest price they can. So, the margin in between is where they make their money.”

The economics of this drug are simple and attractive. It costs an estimated $400 to grow a pound of pot. One pound sells for $2,500 to a middle man. It then yields $6,000 on the street. With low start-up and overhead costs, marijuana is the most profitable drug of all, according to local law enforcement officials. With that kind of profit margin, marijuana is increasingly filling the gap left by other failing industries like lumber and fishing.

“If we didn’t have marijuana, what would this county be like?” said Sligh. “I think we’d all be selling Amway. I mean what else are we going to do?”

When the plants are ready to be harvested, they’re trimmed, dried and ready for sale within weeks.

“It’s hard to tell how much the marijuana is going to sell for on the open market,” he said. “Is that price going to be increased because of less supply? Is it going to be decreased because there is more supply? It’s hard to tell how much marijuana is out there.”

That basic law of supply and demand is just a part of life in Northern California’s Emerald Triangle.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m in a bubble because I just really don’t know what it’s like not to grow marijuana,” said Sligh.

[candyman]

Holy shit! I am moving over there...

I am pissed that they won't let me grow it in my dorm room....but I still get to grow it on my friends farm

[Slogo]

Hmmm... Free market enterpreneur(*). cool

Too bad i hear it ruins your memory

Hmmm... Free market enterpreneur(*). cool

Too bad i hear it ruins your memory

[candyman]

Hmmm... Free market enterpreneur(*). cool

Too bad i hear it ruins your memory

Hmmm... Free market enterpreneur(*). cool

Too bad i hear it ruins your memory

If you can't deal with short term memory loss...what can you deal with?

[Homicidalheathen]

I hear it is now Kentucky's numero uno cash crop

Its grown EVERYWHERE in that state

[Rev.Reverence]

Hmmm... Free market enterpreneur(*). cool

Too bad i hear it ruins your memory

Hmmm... Free market enterpreneur(*). cool

Too bad i hear it ruins your memory

...NOT thinking...makes you lose your memory

PLENTY of peoples smoke it & have GREAT memories.....plenty of peoples who DO NOT smoke it have shitty memories...I can list several...fast. ALSO...remember that this is MEDICAL...meaning you have a better reason to smoke it than for fun...HOWEVER...a couple of joints is not as bad for you as a 6 (or more often) 12 pac of beers...

...you know...even a touch of memory loss is maybe worth not being in agonizing pain...

...being able to eat food with out barfing.....being CALM.....sleeping ever...

.....SOME of the diseases that can be managed with the Marijuana have other drugs that will manage them...not as well...but they manage...& some of their side effects are SUPER COOL! <--{sarcasm}

Stomach Irritation

Esophageal Irritation (heartburn-ish thing)

Bowel Tract Irritation

Dry Mouth

Constipation

Diarrhea

Liver Damage

Kidney Damage

DEATH (yes they prescribe some pain killers that MIGHT kill you because they are SO potent)

...& yeah...that's a list off the top of me head...off of pain pills I have seen (not taken..I've never been THAT hurt.)

...side affects for MJ?

Dry Mouth

Hunger

Cough (if you don't know how to COOK IT INTO FOOD!){THEN...it GIVES the benefit of fiber)

"Forgetfulness" (I don't buy into that)

"Laziness" (NOR THAT)

"Tired" (that's a very good reason to use it...insomnia)

[Homicidalheathen]

dont forget spasms, inflamation...pain...weight loss...loss of appetitie...which are the reasons my doc suggested I EAT IT (no, smoking is bad)

[Rev.Reverence]

dont forget spasms, inflamation...pain...weight loss...loss of appetitie...which are the reasons my doc suggested I EAT IT (no, smoking is bad)

...I fergot to say...please...add to the list gang...

MY head don't always run at the peak efficiency in the pre-noon hours...to say the least..

[candyman]

...I fergot to say...please...add to the list gang...

MY head don't always run at the peak efficiency in the pre-noon hours...to say the least..

If a list were to be made that included all the truths of marijuana and all the bullshit lies about it...the internet would fry which would conjure up a demon that would destroy earth

[Slogo]

If you wanna know how full of shit the laws are just remember who the 2 biggest contributors to Partnership for a Drug Free America are.

Anheiser(*) Busch and Phillip-Morris

[Goth Brooks]

Go Go Gadget DEA RAID!

[candyman]

Go Go Gadget DEA RAID!

They can do that? I know its still illegal to them but in Wisconsin, at least where its legal, the DEA and anyone else has to get permission through local government and law enforcement. Then the case is reviewed to see if they want the DEA messing things up.

I guess Cali just sucks that much more...besides the constant nice weather that is...

[Goth Brooks]

They can do that? I know its still illegal to them but in Wisconsin, at least where its legal, the DEA and anyone else has to get permission through local government and law enforcement. Then the case is reviewed to see if they want the DEA messing things up.

I guess Cali just sucks that much more...besides the constant nice weather that is...

Federal Agencies do not need State permission to enforce Federal law.

[Morbid Side]

They can do that? I know its still illegal to them but in Wisconsin, at least where its legal, the DEA and anyone else has to get permission through local government and law enforcement. Then the case is reviewed to see if they want the DEA messing things up.

I guess Cali just sucks that much more...besides the constant nice weather that is...

Based on the recent events the DEA has busted a chain of medical marijuana shops out here and has continued to crack down on the ones selling non prescribed cannabis. And Obama already put out statement saying "We have more important things to worry about." *cough recession*

[heavenly war]

I think that once every state has Medical Marijuana, they'll legalize it around the U.S. Its the least harmful substance out of them all. Completely over reacted in all cases, which i find bullshit. People need to learn how to get a grip, and join them.

[Sparrow]

Glad to see the common man is getting by in these "troubling economic times."

[e-jewell]

I for one would fuck a marijuana plant. For the lulz, the screams, and the love.

[Destroit]

In awesome news, if it's one good thing that Obama does, I read an article talking about how soon enough medical marijuana will be legal on a federal level, and whether or not it is illegal in a particular state will be up to the state itself. As in, no more DEA raids, no more of the federal government fucking with people that need God's Medicine , woo!

[TheGimp]

i use to be an abid smoker enjoying every toke i took but since quitting to find a better job cuz half the dmn jobs worth working *in my opinion* require drug teting so i havent smoked since Dec 31st and i really couldnt care for it anymore i dont even like the smell much anymore but thats just me...i can see the pro's to it being legalized though so cudos to that...but i see it as a bit of a waste of money now for Rec use

[Scales]

IMHO, a system that teaches biased fear doesn't know the meaning of freedom or the free market that would come with it.

[Reaper]

Hmmm... Free market enterpreneur(*). cool

Too bad i hear it ruins your memory

Hmmm... Free market enterpreneur(*). cool

Too bad i hear it ruins your memory

That was a funny way to put it as a double thought lol

[Simon Bar Sinister]

Seems the Obama administration is no longer going to bust medical marijauna clinics.

[Rev.Reverence]

Seems the Obama administration is no longer going to bust medical marijauna clinics.

I heard something about that...that's pretty cool.

[candyman]

Now I can grow! Yay!