California legalized bust

[CL52613]

I have been a medical user for about 6 years, and would like to know what others are thinking. Prior to the supposed legalization in California, only medical use was legal and all dispensaries required the original recommendation paperwork in order to join the dispensary and purchase your meds. There were lots of dispensaries, a very large variety of strains, and a usually a handful of dispensaries in each city that would have their product tested for thc content. I have always purchased only the highest quality of herb being offered, and only those tested. If you are going to pay top dollar, you want to know you are getting your money's worth. Sorry but it does not mean a thing to tell me top shelf, exclusive, or private reserve; without the numbers, the label is useless. Fortunately enough dispensaries carried tested product that it made carrying specialty strains a must to attract some extra customers. The always available strains would be bought from the tested dispensary before the untested, even if the price was a bit higher per gram. And 2 dispensaries selling the same strain, at the same price, Dispensary "A" has strain with 17% thc; Dispensary B has same strain with 27% thc; Dispensary "B" would definitely be selling more. It is good knowing, with reasonable sureness, the potency of your medicinal herb. Keep in mind, this is how it was before marijuana became legal.

The current state of the marijuana industry in Southern California is stagnant, dispensaries everywhere, almost none offering tested product. The variety of strains has shrunk tremendously, and standby's like Sour Diesel, Green Crack, Trainwreck, Cindy 99, Lamb's Bread, Jack Herer, True, Herojuana, Super Silver Haze, etc., are rarely carried. And now the few dispensaries testing, typically are selling the identical menu, with slightly different percentage numbers. Bottom line, do you think the typical dispensary is offering better selection and quality than prior to legalization? Are fewer dispensaries offering tested product?

California's legalization experience has been a major bust, at least for the consumers

 

[Baron23]

I have been a medical user for about 6 years, and would like to know what others are thinking. Prior to the supposed legalization in California, only medical use was legal and all dispensaries required the original recommendation paperwork in order to join the dispensary and purchase your meds. There were lots of dispensaries, a very large variety of strains, and a usually a handful of dispensaries in each city that would have their product tested for thc content. I have always purchased only the highest quality of herb being offered, and only those tested. If you are going to pay top dollar, you want to know you are getting your money's worth. Sorry but it does not mean a thing to tell me top shelf, exclusive, or private reserve; without the numbers, the label is useless. Fortunately enough dispensaries carried tested product that it made carrying specialty strains a must to attract some extra customers. The always available strains would be bought from the tested dispensary before the untested, even if the price was a bit higher per gram. And 2 dispensaries selling the same strain, at the same price, Dispensary "A" has strain with 17% thc; Dispensary B has same strain with 27% thc; Dispensary "B" would definitely be selling more. It is good knowing, with reasonable sureness, the potency of your medicinal herb. Keep in mind, this is how it was before marijuana became legal.

The current state of the marijuana industry in Southern California is stagnant, dispensaries everywhere, almost none offering tested product. The variety of strains has shrunk tremendously, and standby's like Sour Diesel, Green Crack, Trainwreck, Cindy 99, Lamb's Bread, Jack Herer, True, Herojuana, Super Silver Haze, etc., are rarely carried. And now the few dispensaries testing, typically are selling the identical menu, with slightly different percentage numbers. Bottom line, do you think the typical dispensary is offering better selection and quality than prior to legalization? Are fewer dispensaries offering tested product?

California's legalization experience has been a major bust, at least for the consumers

I believe that the limited variety you are seeing in regulated and tested dispensaries is a result of few growers and processors having test compliant product and who are meeting alll reg req.

 

[arb]

Welcome to cannabis "freedom"..........it will only get worse.

 

[invertedisdead]

The current state of the marijuana industry in Southern California is stagnant, dispensaries everywhere, almost none offering tested product. The variety of strains has shrunk tremendously, and standby's like Sour Diesel, Green Crack, Trainwreck, Cindy 99, Lamb's Bread, Jack Herer, True, Herojuana, Super Silver Haze, etc., are rarely carried. And now the few dispensaries testing, typically are selling the identical menu, with slightly different percentage numbers. Bottom line, do you think the typical dispensary is offering better selection and quality than prior to legalization? Are fewer dispensaries offering tested product?

Those strains are all still floating around but they aren't as popular or in demand as they once were. A lot of todays popular strains are just crosses of those older ones though. For example, Girl Scout Cookies is everywhere, but finding its parent, Durban Poison, would be more challenging.

Everything is supposed to be tested from July 1 on out but i think many brands are struggling to catch up to the new laws. The lab testing fees are considerably higher to meet these new regulations.

As far as selection, IDK, I think extract selection is pretty large, but a lot of it is schwag too.
I do think it is, was, and still is challenging to find truly great flower. IMO top shelf nugs should be looking frosty like a High Times centerfold if they want to ask the prices they ask, it rarely does. A lot of buds at my local dispensary still look like they are being sifted. Either that, or they are getting killed by automatic trimming machines. Plus I think our judgment criteria as vaporists is typically much higher than most smokers. The pre-packed era we're heading into is just gonna make it even harder to find a good nugget.

 

[macbill]

I suggest you look at the on-line menus of established dispensaries in other states, such as Colorado or Oregon. This will show you what will be your normal in 2 or 3 years. For example, here in Washington State, it seems as if there are hundreds of varieties. I see ads for $99 oz.

Your market needs time to get up to speed. Will it be as good as before? No. Everything changes. You cannot even smell the product. But prices will go down, and choices increase as time goes on.

 

[CarolKing]

The reason the THC levels are all over the place is because each plant registered a different cannabinol level. I wonder too how honest the anylitical companies are? We’ve had some dishonest players in the game here in WA state. I’m hoping the state has figured things out.

In CA it may take a while before things are on a steady pace with the demand. The states are slow to get things going when it come to weed. It’s like the blind leading the blind.

Last year they lost a lot of cannabis supply from the wildfires in CA.

 

[looney2nz]

The reason the THC levels are all over the place is because each plant registered a different cannabinol level. I wonder too how honest the anylitical companies are? We’ve had some dishonest players in the game here in WA state. I’m hoping the state has figured things out.

In CA it may take a while before things are on a steady pace with the demand. The states are slow to get things going when it come to weed. It like the blind leading the blind.

Last year they lost a lot of cannabis supply from the wildfires in CA.

we're hoping that the affected growers are starting to rebuild, no agra insurance for cannabis businesses adding insult to injury, many of them were clean green certified organic growers as well.

45 & Sessions... ignoring the majority of the population, not to mention our neighbors both to the north AND south (who are going to start eating our lunch in the marketplace).

I'd like to see some randomized cross testing to try and keep the labs honest.

The fact that we've had what appears to be an independent consumer buying stuff and sending it out for lab testing in so cal, and tons of it came up dirty makes you wonder! I think his instagram is 'DatDude41510'.

In CA, SteepHill still seems to be on the up and up (not sure DeAngelo would accept it otherwise), CWAnalytics seems to have been good, not so sure about SCLabs.

I could swear I read that one of labs has changed their policy to no longer accept 'private' (consumer) testing because of the private tests?

 

[Silver420Surfer]

The fact that we've had what appears to be an independent consumer buying stuff and sending it out for lab testing in so cal, and tons of it came up dirty makes you wonder! I think his instagram is 'DatDude41510'.

You are correct...DatDude41510

While not in CA, I def feel for patients/rec buyers with all the ill-testing products. How anyone is even still considering oil "carts" is beyond my comprehension. In PA mmj we have a company, Moxie, in common, shudder to think how contaminated their meds are here in PA. Haven't seen ANY info on our banned list of pesticides yet available to the public. But my thinking is, if they're using shitty, dangerous pesticides in Cali, prob using same shitty pesticides here in PA. Be careful out their folks.

 

[looney2nz]

You are correct...DatDude41510

While not in CA, I def feel for patients/rec buyers with all the ill-testing products. How anyone is even still considering oil "carts" is beyond my comprehension. In PA mmj we have a company, Moxie, in common, shudder to think how contaminated their meds are here in PA. Haven't seen ANY info on our banned list of pesticides yet available to the public. But my thinking is, if they're using shitty, dangerous pesticides in Cali, prob using same shitty pesticides here in PA. Be careful out their folks.

pretty sure CA followed after CO & WA and reclassified a bunch of pesticides and fungicides as being 'organic' I think there are 200 of them on the 'approved' list WA uses.

 

[Silver420Surfer]

Having worked in the industry in CO, I learned a good bit of what to stay away from some great folks I worked with. BUT, I know knew crap is always coming out. It's nice to have fellow patients/rec users who care enough to bring this info to the forefront. So many folks are just happy it's legal and maybe aren't even aware of how nasty some of these chemicals can be.

 

[CarolKing]

I buy organic for the most part, there are a lot of companies that say that they are here in my legal state. I’m OK with spending a little more for a better product.

We just need to be able to trust what they say is true. I look for certain producers when shopping for my weed. I notice I don’t find much of a difference from cannabis that’s 20% THC and 28% usually. I will have to say I don’t buy weed that’s below 17% THC.

Here in WA state the medical patients have been forgotten about. It’s hard to find a doctor or nurse practitioner that gives out medical certificates for cannabis now. I haven’t been able to get my card renewed because of that. I save sales tax is all if I have a medical card.

 

[arb]

They destroyed medical on purpose there as they will every where else as "legalization"becomes more prevalent.

 

[CL52613]

It truly is a bummer to have fought so long and hard to have marijuana finally recognized as being medically beneficial and legalized only to have the industry operating in such a completely incompetent and amateurish way. Imagine if cigarette and alcohol products were allowed to be sold to consumers with the same lack of standards. Seems like the government and industry leaders only care about the huge generation of cash suddenly made available and very little about those whose cash is filling the coffers. I believe we should all seriously consider boycotting dispensaries that do not test for thc levels at the very least. Would you buy a bottle of Jack Daniel's having no idea if the alcohol content was 10 or 90 percent, or a bottle of vodka that was really gin? Yet we do it all the time when buying our herb, one dispensary says strain X is an indica while another says it is sativa or a hybred. We truly need to become more vocal in regard to what we want from this industry which we have made possible.

 

[looney2nz]

Having worked in the industry in CO, I learned a good bit of what to stay away from some great folks I worked with. BUT, I know knew crap is always coming out. It's nice to have fellow patients/rec users who care enough to bring this info to the forefront. So many folks are just happy it's legal and maybe aren't even aware of how nasty some of these chemicals can be.

I remember the reaction I had the 1st time I brought up lab testing on the old ASA web forums.

I tried to explain liability... there were a TON of folks who were just incensed

Medical patients, immune compromised, tainted meds... BAD effin' combination.

 

[psychonaut]

The way forward if possible is DIY. Pesticides are completely unecessary when the garden is small and properly cared for.

Organic or not you'll have 100% cleaner meds than anywhere else, including your trusted friends stash.

 

[Ramahs]

The way forward if possible is DIY. Pesticides are completely unecessary when the garden is small and properly cared for.

Organic or not you'll have 100% cleaner meds than anywhere else, including your trusted friends stash.

Yeah, I just look forward to legally growing my own medicine.

 

[looney2nz]

until I can do that, I try and find Clean Green Certified organic growers.

 

[TastyClouds]

I'm in Northern California so I hear you in regards to the limited tested product. As mentioned by others, some of our most talented growers are priced out of the market or simply haven't had the time/resources to get licensed. Right now some of the smaller growers are fighting just to have a part in the original version of prop 64 that the voters passed to be enforced, which would give them priority in licensing and at a price most could afford. That needs to be sorted.

Its going to get worse before it gets better. I remember just a few years ago WA had some ridiculous prices on flower like $80 1/8ths. Now, shit... you can find high quality organic lab tested 1/8s there for 15 bucks. And that's after its taxed 37%. In 3-5 years we should be getting an idea of what a mature rec market is like here in CA.

 

[CarolKing]

California: Teen Marijuana Use Declines Post-Legalization
Thursday, 23 August 2018

San Francisco, CA: Marijuana use by adolescents continues to decline in California, according to statewide data provided by the California Healthy Kids Survey, a biennial survey funded by the Departments of Health and Education.

Among 7th graders, 4.2 percent reported ever having used cannabis during the years 2015 to 2017, as compared to 7.9 percent during the years 2013 to 2015 (-47 percent). Among 9th graders, 17.4 percent reported ever having used cannabis during the years 2015 to 2017, as compared to 23.1 percent during the years 2013 to 2015 (-25 percent). Among 11th graders, 31.9 percent reported ever having used cannabis during the years 2015 to 2017, as compared to 37.9 percent during the years 2013 to 2015 (-16 percent).

The percentage of teens reporting using cannabis multiple times and/or repeatedly within the past 30 days also declined for all age groups.

“These initial reports confirm that legalizing and regulating cannabis doesn’t increase youth marijuana use, but rather it has the opposite effect,” said Ellen Komp, deputy director of California NORML. “The fact that the biggest drop in reported use came from younger age groups is a particularly encouraging indicator of the success of regulation.”

California law legalized the adult use, possession, and cultivation of marijuana by adults in November of 2016. Retail adult use marijuana sales did not go into effect until January 1, 2018.

The findings are consistent with those of other studies and surveys from other states finding that the enactment of adult marijuana use laws is not associated with upticks in young people’s use of marijuana or access to the substance.



For more information, please contact California NORML here. Full text of the study, “School Climate, Substance Use, and Well

 

[macbill]

"My parents use that stuff and look how stupid they are. I'm never gonna use..."

 

[looney2nz]

"My parents use that stuff and look how stupid they are. I'm never gonna use..."

my grandma uses that shit!

 

[arb]

Removing the naughty factor works like a champ pretty much every time.
You'd think we as a species would learn that lesson but we continue to legislate instead of educate.

 

[seaofgreens]

@looney2nz

States don't decide what pesticides/fungicides/herbicides are added to the organic's list. Nothing was simply "added in," to allow for cannabis. That is determined federally. OMRI certification is the only acceptable approval out there in regards to what is allowable to be used. You are not "clean green," or organic otherwise.

Also have to have maintained these practices a minimum of three documented years prior to applying for certification.

No shade, just clarifying. Have a good one!