Economic Considerations: Colorado exceeds 5 million in recreational cannabis sales in one week

Anderson Cooper 360 Special tonight on CNN: 8PM on Dish TV
Gone to Pot: Cannabis Tours

If it was legal here, why would I go buy it if I could grow my own - as is also legal in CO? Unless we ban cultivation.

Since the enactment of Colorado Amendment 64, adults aged 21 or older can grow up to six cannabis plants (with no more than half being mature flowering plants), privately in a locked space, legally possess all cannabis from the plants they grow (as long as it stays where it was grown),

Sorry, Anderson Cooper 360 Special tonight on CNN is actually on at 9PM VI time on Dish TV for those of you interested.
If I smoked pot, I'd certainly prefer to grow my own.

One thing that Colorado is doing to drive profits is playing up the experience of pot - there are pot tastings, restaurants are choosing foods to pair with pot smoking, there are lines of premium pot in pot shops, etc. They are making the whole experience one of a pot connoisseur for folks, and that is driving a lot of the revenues. It isn't just that smoking and growing your good old basic pot is legal now.

If it was legal here, why would I go buy it if I could grow my own - as is also legal in CO? Unless we ban cultivation.

Since the enactment of Colorado Amendment 64, adults aged 21 or older can grow up to six cannabis plants (with no more than half being mature flowering plants), privately in a locked space, legally possess all cannabis from the plants they grow (as long as it stays where it was grown),

because it takes a minimum of 3 months to produce a matured female plant, and then it only yields so much. you can brew your own beer and wine at home, yet I bet you buy that at a store?

plus the plant is very inconstant, every seed is a different strain so to gain a consistent product a bit more skill is involved; however, just like home brewed beer and wine, I see the home cultivators being somewhat small comparatively.

and of course, lets not forget the OTHER uses for the plant:

as I said; it's practically criminal to keep this resource (especially on an island that has a 365 day growing season) from the people and the local economy.

The goverment can do whatever it wants on this subject. I don't really care.

The one thing they can't do is require me to hire someone that fails a drug test.

The goverment can do whatever it wants on this subject. I don't really care.

The one thing they can't do is require me to hire someone that fails a drug test.

if you want, at your business, to distinguish between inebriation drugs (alcohol, caffeine, cannabis, cocaine) I think that is absolutely your right, all of them can be tested for; this isn't even related to the topic.

I'm talking about a solution to a DIRE economic situation, the loss of tax revenue and income generation due to the Hovensa closure is in reality just now starting to hit STX. Seaborne airlines moving headquarters, a nose diving housing market and dismal job market are just some of the symptoms that we will see increase from now on (especially since the severance packages have almost all run out by now from the refinery closure).

This thread is attempting to bring to light a proven and highly lucrative income source that would move this plant from the black market to the taxed market, a simple shift of sale point (from the back streets of C'sted and Williams delight to the Sunny isle shopping center and other locations) and a huge shift in personal safety and community benefit.

Like I said, whatever you want is OK with me.

But like every other thing that the government tries to run or control, we won't get any positive results.
I highly doubt that legalizing it will get any revenue beyond a business license revenue, since in this
area, the IRB does nothing to catch and prosecute people and businesses that chronically underreport
their income.

Like I said, whatever you want is OK with me.

But like every other thing that the government tries to run or control, we won't get any positive results.
I highly doubt that legalizing it will get any revenue beyond a business license revenue, since in this
area, the IRB does nothing to catch and prosecute people and businesses that chronically underreport
their income.

a business that is not taxed is a rare thing. And an industry that in Colorado generated 5 million in sales in ONE WEEK is an ASTRONOMICALLY HUGE thing. If you correlate that to the number of tourists that visit this island you'll see what I'm saying.

I help my wife run the only horse rescue and guided tour (to fund the horse rescue) on the island of St Croix, we strive to educate locals on proper equine care and tourists to the same. Guess what one of the more common questions are that we get when hanging out on the west end during cruise boat landings.... (hint, it's directly related to the topic of this thread).

The islands would find this alone as such a huge revenue stream, not to mention the fact that hemp seeds are a super food, hemp fibers make superior clothing, ropes and fiberglass replacements (much better than current silica based fiber glass, did you know Henry Ford's first car was entirely a product of hemp and steel?) this is a multi-faceted agriculture product that would revolutionize an area that has a 365 day growing season. Recreation aside (and as Colorado has shown us, that alone generates MILLIONS a year) this plant would drastically change the territory for the better.

Those that want to differentiate alcohol and THC could absolutely do so (as you apparently want to do); I'm not talking about stopping that at all.

Lets look at the examples, Amsterdam and Portugal stand out as blazing examples of what happens when prohibition is ended (drug use drops, crime drops, look up the statistics for yourself) We aren't re-inventing the wheel, just following solid examples (some that have been around for decades) of what works best.

Like I said, whatever you want is OK with me.

But like every other thing that the government tries to run or control, we won't get any positive results.
I highly doubt that legalizing it will get any revenue beyond a business license revenue, since in this
area, the IRB does nothing to catch and prosecute people and businesses that chronically underreport
their income.

I'm not entirely sure that increasing government revenues is the goal? The goal is to increase personal wealth and spending, and to put more money into circulation on the island. I actually would prefer as little profit from hemp/marijuana to go in the government coffers as possible. Let the people grow it, market it, sell it, make it an experience for visitors, put money in their pockets.

Like I said, whatever you want is OK with me.

But like every other thing that the government tries to run or control, we won't get any positive results.
I highly doubt that legalizing it will get any revenue beyond a business license revenue, since in this
area, the IRB does nothing to catch and prosecute people and businesses that chronically underreport
their income.

I'm not entirely sure that increasing government revenues is the goal? The goal is to increase personal wealth and spending, and to put more money into circulation on the island. I actually would prefer as little profit from hemp/marijuana to go in the government coffers as possible. Let the people grow it, market it, sell it, make it an experience for visitors, put money in their pockets.

true enough, the tax revue is just a side benefit; but in reality our roads, power, and (a lot of) water are all managed by the government so unfortunately (and until we change that) it is fairly important that we fund the government; especially on the topic of power (and generator upgrades that are DESPERATELY needed).

I suppose I just keep mentioning tax revenue because it seems to me like a government not "allowing" this plant to be grown, and grown commercially is shooting itself in the foot and wrongly punishing it's citizens.

Do you really want me to list the business types that under-report income or pay no taxes at all?
These islands are a tax cheats paradise and if you think that legalizing weed will produce any more
taxes than legalizing prostitution, you are fooling yourself.

totally agree. The argument about making your own beer and wine is null and void. There is MUCH time and MUCH science involved. Pot is a weed - plant it - it grows. If you want to get technical and create your own strains ok that's different but majority just want to get high and if they grow it, it's free and not taxable. And as someone who did make my own wine and beer I can tell you it's WAYYYYYYYY easier to grow pot.

The enforcement of growing your own will be equivilant (IMO more) costly than just having it outlawed.

I wonder if there are any people in jail in CO for possession? Do they get released now if it's under the size limit allowed?

All that being said I don't care if it's legalized or not- pretty much everyone I know smokes here anyways. Me? I think it smells and tastes like poo poo.

Also in regards to the Amsterdam reference - the Netherlands don't seem to be too thrilled with the subject of legalized pot. There's a few newish laws (2012) that require a "drug passport" for buying pot in coffee shops and they are talking about bannig the sale of it to tourist. I read online that one of the problems too is the potency of it. People are creating strains that are 15-20% stronger in THC. These are the things that you have to think about - there are a lot of negatives also.

Do you really want me to list the business types that under-report income or pay no taxes at all?
These islands are a tax cheats paradise and if you think that legalizing weed will produce any more
taxes than legalizing prostitution, you are fooling yourself.

fair enough, then we can just look at the local economy benefits (Jobs, store fronts, employment etc) and call it good.

I'm mostly of the libertarian philosophy anyway, the smaller the government the better.

In typical "we're 20 years behind everywhere else" VI Government fashion, they'll be the last ones to legalize pot while the rest of the country benefits by setting up industries around this growing trend. Don't expect anything cutting edge here. Especially on St. Can't.

In typical "we're 20 years behind everywhere else" VI Government fashion, they'll be the last ones to legalize pot while the rest of the country benefits by setting up industries around this growing trend. Don't expect anything cutting edge here. Especially on St. Can't.

Haha, well I think that very fact is part of the draw here; so I guess it's not all terrible.

Honestly ST Thomas is a bit too much like hawaii (over commercialized and lost culture) so I guess I can live with passing up easy/obvious opportunities for a less consumerism obsessed island.

Maybe the way to go is to legalize gay weddings, legalize prostitution and legalize weed.

I don't know how much revenue that will bring, but the bachelors/brides parties and wedding
reception would be a blast!!!

Colorado pot sellers seem to have a slight problem as banks are refusing to take in money profits from the sales as while it might be legal to sell to sell in certain states it is still against the federal laws under which banks do business.

Wow I didn't even think about that. I'd assume it's fairly easy to get around thou - I don't remember the last time a banker asked me where I got the money I was depositing.

I say toke up Co. It won't last long IMO. I'd assume just long enough to pay off debts lol.

The state of CO is banking the money for them with JPMorgan Chase and two other banks, no issues (at least not at the moment). Not sure I would trust the VI government to do the same thing. 😉

State banks pot money that industry is unable to do itself

http://www.denverpost.com/marijuana/ci_24843283/state-banks-pot-money-that-industry-is-unable

It was reported on the news this morning about the problem with depositing pot profits in banks.

Right, which is why the State of CO is banking it for them in state-held accounts.

It is interesting that Bank of America has said they will accept pot deposits directly and they're not worried about the Feds.

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It is interesting that Bank of America has said they will accept pot deposits directly and they're not worried about the Feds.

This I had not heard....do they have the ability to keep the pot deposits properly moist without the risk of molding while on deposit? Especially with the burglary rate in the VI, I would certainly feel safer putting my pot on deposit with a bank than keeping it at home. Has the FDIC mentioned if pot is insured like regular deposits? 😉

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It is interesting that Bank of America has said they will accept pot deposits directly and they're not worried about the Feds.

This I had not heard....do they have the ability to keep the pot deposits properly moist without the risk of molding while on deposit? Especially with the burglary rate in the VI, I would certainly feel safer putting my pot on deposit with a bank than keeping it at home. Has the FDIC mentioned if pot is insured like regular deposits? 😉

Yes, but only up to a gram. 😀