'Weed Apocalypse' dawns for California pot dealers on Sunday

By Rollo Ross

 

FILE PHOTO: Customers queue for recreational marijuana outside the MedMen store in West Hollywood, California U.S. January 2, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

 

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Six months after California made recreational marijuana use legal, the so-called "Weed Apocalypse" arrives this weekend, as tight state regulations going into effect on Sunday have dispensaries scrambling to unload non-compliant product.

 

But while the deadline is giving pot shop owners headaches, it is creating an opportunity for consumers. They are already anticipating deep discounts on their favourite marijuana products on what has been dubbed "Green Saturday" - for the colour of cannabis - and for black market dealers.

 

"There's going to be a lot of massive sales, a lot of retails fire-selling a lot of products," said Nick Danias, manager of The Pottery cannabis dispensary in mid-city Los Angeles.

 

"It's about getting rid of a lot of older product that doesn't meet city and state requirements and getting through that old inventory and moving on to the next steps after July 1," he said.

 

The state Bureau of Cannabis Control regulations require shops to sell only marijuana that has been tested for pesticides, potency and microbiological contaminants.

 

The government-approved pot will be marked with a harvest and "best use by" date and sealed in child-resistant packaging. The rules were designed to take effect on July 1, six months after legalization approved by voters in November formally took effect on Jan. 1.

 

Business owners say they have struggled to meet the deadline because of a lack of approved testing facilities in California, which has created a bottleneck in the supply of compliant marijuana that could drive customers to the black market.

 

The Bureau of Cannabis Control lists 31 labs for testing on its website but says only 19 are operational.

 

"We issued our emergency regulations back in November, and at that time, we were pretty clear about the fact that there would be a six-month transition period for retailers to use up their existing supply," said Alex Traverso, a spokesman for the bureau. "We felt that was a sufficient amount of time to deplete stock on hand and adapt to California’s new rules."

 

HUGE DISCOUNTS

 

    Jerred Kiloh, who owns 'The Higher Path' in Sherman Oaks, is desperately trying to sell all his non-compliant stock before Sunday, offering weed between 50 and 70 percent off.

 

"I'm losing anywhere between 30 and 40 percent on every sale just so I don't lose 100 percent, because under current laws I can't give product that is non-compliant back to distributors," Kiloh said.

 

    Kiloh, who is also the president of the United Cannabis Business Association, estimates that California's licensed cannabis industry will have lost up to half a billion dollars after July 1.

 

    Vendors worry that taxes as high as 40 percent on some product may also tempt users back to unlicensed dispensaries, of which there are estimated to be 1,300 in Los Angeles alone.

 

"There are a lot of people saying that within the next year or two you're going to see at least 90 percent of these companies out of business, because how are they going to sustain themselves unless they go into the underground market?", said Brad Slaughter, a writer for California Weed Blog.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-06-30

Lucky them ! Really feel like to move back to US...

 

 

California has to be the most F up place.  He'll it makes Thailand look good.

 

They say we want to legalize pot so it is not underground then they regulate and tax the she!t out of coercing deAlers that want to be legit underground.

That's what happens when liberals like up in one place. Mass confusion and total chaos! Everyone can learn from California that the liberal way can not be trusted or allowed to operate in full. Not that they don't have a few good ideas, but mainly they would ruin this country to the point Russia and China will look sweet as alternative living locations! That's not good, no offense Russia and China! 

just there, not worth  moving back for, F8$%& rat race.

1 hour ago, 9505robin said:

That's what happens when liberals like up in one place. Mass confusion and total chaos! Everyone can learn from California that the liberal way can not be trusted or allowed to operate in full. Not that they don't have a few good ideas, but mainly they would ruin this country to the point Russia and China will look sweet as alternative living locations! That's not good, no offense Russia and China! 

If you were true conservative, you would be for less government control over your personal life. You are clearly operating from position of ignorance, perhaps fed by typical alt right feeds.  No chaos, no mass confusion (barring folks like yourself)

Pot has been legal in Oregon for a couple of years, Washington and Colorado bit longer.

"Don't bother me with facts: I've already got my opinion" is your attitude. I don't smoke pot, BTW

https://news.lift.co/five-years-effects-legalization-colorado-washington-state/

19 hours ago, 9505robin said:

That's what happens when liberals like up in one place. Mass confusion and total chaos! Everyone can learn from California that the liberal way can not be trusted or allowed to operate in full. Not that they don't have a few good ideas, but mainly they would ruin this country to the point Russia and China will look sweet as alternative living locations! That's not good, no offense Russia and China! 

That funny they are top 10 in GDP per cap and conservative bastion Mississippi is 50th. In fact Trump won electoral college votes in 16 of the 17 lowest states.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_GDP_per_capita

Edited July 1, 20188 yr by pegman

19 hours ago, 9505robin said:

That's what happens when liberals like up in one place. Mass confusion and total chaos! Everyone can learn from California that the liberal way can not be trusted or allowed to operate in full. Not that they don't have a few good ideas, but mainly they would ruin this country to the point Russia and China will look sweet as alternative living locations! That's not good, no offense Russia and China! 

If California were a country it would have the 6th biggest GDP in the world.  And that was for 2016,  Given the recent travails of the UK, I suspect it would now rank 5th biggest GDP in the world.

Damn liberals!

On ‎7‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 1:13 PM, pegman said:

In fact Trump won electoral college votes in 16 of the 17 lowest states.

And the Pope is Catholic....