As pot picks up, Cali slows down

Hey, thanks for the national update last week. How did marijuana do in California?

—Willie Wonky Jr.

Well Willie, weed wasn’t warmly welcomed, if that’s what you are asking. Pretty much all of the county initiatives that would have eased restrictions on medical cannabis failed. Measure S in Nevada County didn’t pass. Measure O in Lake County was a no go. Shasta County’s Measure A, which bans all outdoor growing in unincorporated areas, passed. In Butte County, Measure A passed, Measure B failed—Measure A allows medical marijuana cultivation, but is way more prohibitive than Measure B would have been. The cities of Encinitas and La Mesa (down near San Diego) tried to pass measures that would allow for medical cannabis dispensaries. Couldn’t do it. Santa Cruz succeeded in passing a small sales tax on medical marijuana. Santa Ana had two initiatives for regulating medical cannabis on the ballot. The more restrictive one was the winner.

And that’s how it is. While everyone is excited because 2016 should be California’s turn to finally legalize weed, recent elections have shown that many people in the state want less pot, or at least a very tightly regulated marijuana market. This is going to present a big challenge for legalizers in 2016. Once you get outside of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento, the state becomes very conservative in its leanings. Hopefully the people behind whatever gets on the ballot in 2016 (I’m looking at you, Drug Policy Alliance) will be able to write an initiative that is not only fair to the people already involved in the cannabis industry, but able to get past the fears and prejudices of the conservative folk in this state. Good luck.

How is your harvest season going?

—Tommy Trimmer

It’s going very well, thank you. I just got back from a quick trip to Washington and Oregon. I bought some legal weed in Olympia ($22 a gram. A little steep, but top shelf in Cali will set you back $20 a gram before tax). It was really good, but I didn’t like that state law won’t let you smell the cannabis before purchase. Even novice cannabis users know that the smell is the No. 1 tool for marijuana purchasing decisions. Hopefully, they will change that law. It’s silly. While I was down in Southern Oregon, I sampled many a delicious nugget from the locals. Someone had a Pineapple Kush that smelled delicious, but wasn’t very strong, and I tried about three different OG Kushes that were stellar. Which brings me to Sacramento. I have spent the past few days rolling around and visiting all the clubs in the area just to see what’s what, and I must say that I have been incredibly impressed by all of the great outdoor varieties in town. And the prices are great this time of year. Many clubs have high quality strains for $10 a gram. I went to one club and they had a nice Bubblegum strain for $5 a gram. I had to buy one for old times’ sake. When was the last time you got a nickel bag?