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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,538
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The Day After: Anti-Prop 19 Marijuana Growers Interviewed
#13431444 - 11/03/10 10:01 PM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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The Day After: Anti-Prop 19 Marijuana Growers Interviewed November 3, 2010 - tokeofthetown.com
It's no secret that Toke of the Town supported California's Proposition 19 all the way down the line.
But it's also important to try to understand the mindset of those who voted against it, especially within the cannabis community.
Toke's Northern California correspondent, Jack Rikess, got a chance to talk with a couple of growers who voted against the measure.
Here's what he learned.
 Tim Blake, a longtime marijuana grower in Mendocino County
Richard Lee's office is issuing the statement about how close we came. That the fight isn't over. Forty-four percent of Californians are for legalization. This is all very positive. This is just the beginning... I'm paraphrasing.
We owe a lot to Richard Lee and I'm sure he owes a lot to many different people today. He put his name and money on the line and paid the penalty of being demonized by his own side, pot smokers who were suspicious of his motives.
Yet it was Richard who was aggressively pushing Proposition 19 throughout the state with his army of Oaksterdamians, his political power and his dough. Every good campaign needs a leader.
Richard, along with many others who knocked on unfriendly doors, called the voters during game time and made an effort where others sat; they deserve our respect and gratitude.
For the weeks leading up to the election, everyday there would be door-hangers with a new political message or candidate advertisement, seeking my vote and endorsement. Because I'm a registered Democrat, I only had the Dems' literature hanging from my knob daily seeking my vote. Not one of the candidates, whether it was Jerry Brown, Barbara Boxer, some Democrat running for dog catcher, etc... Not one of them would endorse Proposition 19.
That's a bad sign. That needs to change.
I reported last week that the growers up north were having a change of heart concerning Prop 19. Many of the people who I spoke to told me, "We're voting for it, no matter how many people say we're not." Well, that didn't happen.
I called up north this morning to talk to some of the growers and apparently they had another change of heart, and voted against Prop 19.
"When the economical climate is rough, people get desperate," one grower said. "The growers up here aren't any different than anyone else when it comes to money. The Rand think-tank had something to do with it. When they stated growers would get less if Prop 19 passed, that woke a lot of people up."
I asked Mendocino icon Tim Blake what he thought.
"I knew every grower was against it," Blake said. "There really isn't an upside for us up here. If it passed, many, many people would lose money. The language of the bill was bad and the growers couldn't be sure where the market was going to go."
"Then there was that Eric Holder thing where he said he'd bust us even if it passed," Blake said. "Most growers would rather go back to the old days, the old way of doing things. And why not? You're making three times what you used to in the old days."
What do you think is going to happen next?
"I think people are going to rework the bill," Blake said. "This time have it much clearer concerning commerce, transportation and cultivation. Don't leave it up to each county to decide their individual laws. We're in a shocked and rocked economy. That is why the scare tactics from the other side worked. Let's take two years and get this right. Fair for everyone."
What do you think the ramifications are for you and the growers up north because of Prop 19 not passing?
"I don't know, too early to tell. But I'll tell you one thing. For being on the losing side, we're doing pretty good."
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ZippoZ
Knomadic



Registered: 06/17/03
Posts: 13,227
Loc: Pongyang, North Korea
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Re: The Day After: Anti-Prop 19 Marijuana Growers Interviewed [Re: veggie]
#13431498 - 11/03/10 10:15 PM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
"I knew every grower was against it," Blake said. "There really isn't an upside for us up here. If it passed, many, many people would lose money. The language of the bill was bad and the growers couldn't be sure where the market was going to go."
"I don't know, too early to tell. But I'll tell you one thing. For being on the losing side, we're doing pretty good."
-------------------- PEACE
zippoz "in times of widespread chaos and confusion, it has been the duty of more advanced human beings - artists, scientists, clowns, and philosophers - to create order. In such times as ours however, when there is too much order, too much m management, too much programming and control, it becomes the duty of superior men and women and women to fling their favorite monkey wrenches into the machinery. To relieve the repression of the human spirit, they must sow doubt and disruption" "People do it every day, they talk to themselves ... they see themselves as they'd like to be, they don't have the courage you have, to just run with it."
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SuperD
Cacti junky


Registered: 10/05/03
Posts: 6,648
Loc: The bridgesii bridge
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Re: The Day After: Anti-Prop 19 Marijuana Growers Interviewed [Re: ZippoZ]
#13431559 - 11/03/10 10:31 PM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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This guy also appeared on the History channel's Marijuana: A chronic history that I just finished watching. Great show if you can catch it.
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   D Manoa said: I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin. Looking for Rauhocereus riosaniensis seeds or live specimen(s), me if you have any for trade
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Chupacabras
Stranger

Registered: 10/28/10
Posts: 13
Last seen: 13 years, 3 months
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Re: The Day After: Anti-Prop 19 Marijuana Growers Interviewed [Re: ZippoZ]
#13432613 - 11/04/10 05:01 AM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
ZippoZ said:
Quote:
"I knew every grower was against it," Blake said. "There really isn't an upside for us up here. If it passed, many, many people would lose money. The language of the bill was bad and the growers couldn't be sure where the market was going to go."
"I don't know, too early to tell. But I'll tell you one thing. For being on the losing side, we're doing pretty good."
I think he's referring to the fact that he wants weed legal for everyone, but he also wants to get paid.
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Green_T


Registered: 10/02/08
Posts: 4,042
Loc: UK
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Re: The Day After: Anti-Prop 19 Marijuana Growers Interviewed [Re: Chupacabras]
#13432686 - 11/04/10 06:02 AM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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Is he saying that he wants it to stay illegal so prices are inflated, or that he wants to be able to sell in a legal market at a lower price without having to get a license to do so?
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"I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man" - Thomas Jefferson Legalize Meth | Drug War Victims
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sinenomine
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Registered: 12/02/06
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Re: The Day After: Anti-Prop 19 Marijuana Growers Interviewed [Re: veggie]
#13432802 - 11/04/10 07:29 AM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
"Then there was that Eric Holder thing where he said he'd bust us even if it passed," Blake said. "Most growers would rather go back to the old days, the old way of doing things. And why not? You're making three times what you used to in the old days."
He's saying he's just dandy with the legal grey area he operates in now, because dispensaries and growers are doin mighty fine for themselves selling their weed for inflated black market prices.
The bottom line, if weed was actually legal then dispensaries couldn't get away with their 60-75 bucks an eighth price model.
It's really straight up greed on their part. Makes me sad that these herb cultivators can be so fucking selfish.
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Shoofles
Bright Eyed, Bushy Tailed


Registered: 12/18/09
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Re: The Day After: Anti-Prop 19 Marijuana Growers Interviewed [Re: veggie]
#13432899 - 11/04/10 08:21 AM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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Good for producers. Bad for end-users.
-------------------- Kill corporation forces for a bonus score!
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adamantasaurus
Stranger
Registered: 04/22/10
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Loc:
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Re: The Day After: Anti-Prop 19 Marijuana Growers Interviewed [Re: Shoofles]
#13433401 - 11/04/10 11:06 AM (13 years, 6 months ago) |
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yea this makes me really upset that the reason why prop 19 didnt pass is because of greedy people like this
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