It just amazes me, when money is involved, how divisive people can become over a simple plant.
I've grown MJ in every way imaginable. Aeroponics, hydroponics, deep water culture, soil, coco, perlite, ebb and flo...and in the end settled on just growing in good old soil. I don't mean that Miracle Gro garbage they sell, but a decent soil mix with good, organic stuff in it. Although I've been approached with many offers, I have never grown for commercial or black market sale.
I was a site Admin and moderator back in the days of Overgrow.com (and others), and, via the web, have taught thousands of folks how to grow their own.
As a legit medical patient living in Washington state, I am allowed to grow up to 15 plants of my own. For the past 18 months I've been buying from the local retail stores, as growing is a lot of work (if you're going to do it right) and the retail prices are low enough that it makes sense. I can still grow killer bud, but running 2kw of lights 12-24 hrs. a day isn't cheap.
Washington state makes bank off of commercial MJ sales. They get a 25% tax from the grower to the packager, and another 25% when the packager sells to the retailer, plus state sales tax when sold to consumer. I have no idea wtf they're doing with the money.
Prices can run from amazingly cheap to kinda spendy, depending on what you buy.
Right now I can get an ounce (28gr) of Super Silver Haze for $24.50 (nope, that's not a typo). There are several other strains where an OZ is around $50.00, and an eighth of high-end (decent) bud will cost you in the area of $25-$45. The cheap stuff is schwaggy weed..not worth the investment, but there are a number of growers that offer a fairly decent product for the money, and it's sufficient for my needs.
I agree with some of the other posters, in that getting a MMJ card is a bit of a joke. Last one I had was in 2007, and to get one today they want to register you in some state database so they can keep en eye on you. They can bite me...not gonna happen.
This is a bud of a local Blackberry strain I used to grow. First hit of this and your mouth feels as if you ate a spoonful of blackberry jelly. Always thought of it as "dessert bud".
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