Excess Medical Marijuana Could be Headed for Black Market

Jacob Bell

New Member
MISSOULA, Mont. -- Caregivers could have less than two weeks to turn in their medical marijuana plants, but one medical marijuana advocate says caregivers aren't likely to turn it over to police.

On July 1 medical marijuana providers are out of business. The new law passed by the legislature takes the profit out of the industry and forces caregivers to turn over any marijuana they might have.

Tayln Lang of Montana Medical Growers Association says he doesn't think it will pan out that way.

"I believe that all that cannabis that's been produced by caregivers up until this point is going to make it's way to the black market," says Lang.

When Senate Bill 423 passed, the medical marijuana industry took a serious hit. Under the old rules caregivers could care for as many patients as they wanted. Now they're limited to helping a maximum of three patients, and they're not allowed to make a profit.

"Many businesses are shuttering their doors, and people are afraid," says Lang.

Marijuana advocates called foul and decided to fight back through the legal system.

"This is a law that is basically based on fear and intimidation, and we don't think that is fair to either patients or caregivers," says Lang.

According to the law as it stands, caregivers will have to give up all medical marijuana so that law enforcement can destroy it. As far as Lang knows, no caregivers have turned in their crops.

"If you say, for example, that there are 30,000 patients in the state, and for each one of those 30,000 patients, six plants can be grown, that is a significant amount of cannabis," says Lang.

He says the drugs won't go to cops, but instead will likely go the black market. That is exactly where Lang expects people who have been legally using the drugs to turn if they can't qualify under the new stricter guidelines.

"Of course that is the only place that patients are going to be able to get their cannabis from, so it makes sense that caregivers, folks that have been growing and producing it up into this point, are just going to leak that medicine to the black market," says Lang.


News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: nbcmontana.com
Author: Matt Leach
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Bonten Media Group
Website: Excess Medical Marijuana Could Be Headed For Black Market
 
Politicians are still stuck thinking they can legislate themselves into being in charge of medicinal Cannabis/Cannabis in general. They are, sadly, still missing the point: Cannabis is and has for many years been the US' #1 cash crop in spite of every attempt to eradicate it. This was still the case pre-medical legalization.

The market for Cannabis exists, like it or not. Cannabis can be reasonably regulated, as most users would prefer to do things legally and will cooperate. When the 'regulation' turns into back-handed attempts to hamstring the expressed will of the people, however, the black market is still there and happy to meet demand - just as it did for decades before any type of legalization. That market, though, cares nothing for customer age, medical need or product safety, though.

Cannabis regulation and taxation must be reasonable and do-able lest our esteemed political leaders once again contribute to the black market by thinking the legal market can be legislated away.

The choice is not between Cannabis or no Cannabis, people. It never has been - indeed, it can't be. 40 years of attempted worldwide prohibition has proven that! It's a choice between gov't getting tax revenue, or said revenue going straight to the black market with the gov't now pointlessly paying to try to stop it. They may as well be urinating down a dry well in hopes of bringing the fresh water back.

Cannabis cannot be stopped, it can only be channeled and guided on a limited basis. Push too hard and back underground it goes. The sooner the politicos figure this out, the better. They may be quite powerful, but their every effort is as nothing before Cannabis and the efforts of those who love her. All they can realy accomplish is to destroy the lives of otherwise law-abiding citizens and cost the rest of us even more by locking them up. Canabis, and demand for her, goes on in spite of it all. You. Cannot. Stop. It. Ever.
 
Politicians are still stuck thinking they can legislate themselves into being in charge of medicinal Cannabis/Cannabis in general. They are, sadly, still missing the point: Cannabis is and has for many years been the US' #1 cash crop in spite of every attempt to eradicate it. This was still the case pre-medical legalization.

The market for Cannabis exists, like it or not. Cannabis can be reasonably regulated, as most users would prefer to do things legally and will cooperate. When the 'regulation' turns into back-handed attempts to hamstring the expressed will of the people, however, the black market is still there and happy to meet demand - just as it did for decades before any type of legalization. That market, though, cares nothing for customer age, medical need or product safety, though.

Cannabis regulation and taxation must be reasonable and do-able lest our esteemed political leaders once again contribute to the black market by thinking the legal market can be legislated away.

The choice is not between Cannabis or no Cannabis, people. It never has been - indeed, it can't be. 40 years of attempted worldwide prohibition has proven that! It's a choice between gov't getting tax revenue, or said revenue going straight to the black market with the gov't now pointlessly paying to try to stop it. They may as well be urinating down a dry well in hopes of bringing the fresh water back.

Cannabis cannot be stopped, it can only be channeled and guided on a limited basis. Push too hard and back underground it goes. The sooner the politicos figure this out, the better. They may be quite powerful, but their every effort is as nothing before Cannabis and the efforts of those who love her. All they can realy accomplish is to destroy the lives of otherwise law-abiding citizens and cost the rest of us even more by locking them up. Canabis, and demand for her, goes on in spite of it all. You. Cannot. Stop. It. Ever.:amen:
Perfectly on point and well said! Now if only the politicos would look at this with such common sense.............
 
:nicethread::nicethread: Now just sit back and see the profits of growers go to the moon. In a matter of days not weeks or months that good Montana weed will now be sold on the streets of many east coast cities instead of going to aid the ill in there own state. That state is being led by a bunch of redneck law-makers who just pushed back progress about ten or so years. RD :peace::peace::peace: :yahoo::yahoo:
 
I'll be enjoying the benefits of my 7 plant grow in about three weeks. If Law enforcement thinks I'm going to turn in my mmj because they change the rules.............:laughtwo::laughtwo::laughtwo::laughtwo: My stuff is way too precious to end up on the black market, but since they changed the rules I'll be back to living in the shadows:bitingnails:
 
u'll have to move u're growspace. ya see, this is why i'd never get a permit to grow. now, they know right where to come look for ya! & don't delude u'reself into thinking they won't!
 
u'll have to move u're growspace. ya see, this is why i'd never get a permit to grow. now, they know right where to come look for ya! & don't delude u'reself into thinking they won't!

I'm actually pretty anonymous here. I'm only one of 30,000 cardholders and I don't grow for anybody but my wife and myself. We are not required to have any other permits to grow our own so LE doesn't even know I exist.(and I'm not telling them)Hopefully the judge will uphold the proposed injunction and this conversation will be moot.
 
I'm actually pretty anonymous here. I'm only one of 30,000 cardholders and I don't grow for anybody but my wife and myself. We are not required to have any other permits to grow our own so LE doesn't even know I exist.(and I'm not telling them)Hopefully the judge will uphold the proposed injunction and this conversation will be moot.

Don't kid yourself you're on the grid now and big brother is watching. :thedoubletake::thedoubletake::hmmmm: RD:peace::peace:
 
Don't kid yourself you're on the grid now and big brother is watching. :thedoubletake::thedoubletake::hmmmm: RD:peace::peace:

I do not kid myself about anything. I just know that in order to 'get' me I have to be stupid. I do not sell mj, I do not share mj(except with wife who is a cardholder)I do not grow more than I am legally allowed, i do not tell anybody that I smoke mj. I live an hour out of town behind a locked gate and on a private road with a mile visibility to approaching vehicles so it would be pretty difficult and expensive to raid me for my seven plants. And just because I'm a registered cardholder does not constitute probable cause for a search warrant.

I am not a naive 20 yr old. In fact I qualify for senior citizen discounts in many locations.I have short gray hair and look a lot like Mr. Anybody and look like the last person in the world to enjoy a daily routine that includes mj.I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though I live very cautiously, the odds are definitely on my side that no one will come looking for me and I refuse to live in fear.
 
it's a moot point now, but maybe u should get w/one of those 20 yr olds & find out where that info goes. it's viral, goes everywhere. also, u're the perfect candidate for a raid. remote so there's no witnesses...nobody to get in the way & those 7 plants will grow to 700 by the time u get to court & u'll be the biggest crook in the world. when u get that card u just told LEO where to look for a mj grow. i'll pass.
 
Theyll only get my pot by prying my cold dead fingers off my bong!
 
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