Dude. Like, The Fix Is Totally, Like, In. Dude.
By Mitch Berg
I personally don’t care much one way or another about legalizing cannabis.
But as I’ve heard from people running ma and pa cannabis, THC and CBD product shops, the DFL’s cannabis law is full of carve-outs to big pharma, and has regulations that are pretty sure to smother most small businesses. Tales
But the DFL was buying votes, so no biggie.
All that was foretold, has come to pass:
IRRR is funded by mining industry taxes — about $25 million a year — and was created to diversify the economy by promoting economic development and job creation in 13,000 square miles of northeastern Minnesota. It provides loans and grants to a variety of public and private projects, including broadband development and manufacturing facilities.
HWY35 is led by Jack Mitchell, who is president of Besa Group and Mitchell Hospitality in Kansas City that grow, manufacture and sell cannabis in Missouri. Another principal in HWY35 is John Hyduke, the chair of a Minneapolis-based marketing company, Modern Climate. Mitchell and Hyduke are also the leaders — vice chair and chair, respectively — of a newly formed trade association called the Minnesota Marijuana Association, which has tapped former Mining Minnesota leader Frank Ongaro as its interim executive director. Other board members are with companies from Missouri, Nevada, Maryland, Colorado and Minnesota.
Portions of a shuttered plant in Grand Rapids that used to make oriented strand board would be turned into HWY35’s planned facility, according to the staff presentation to the IRRRB. In addition to the state loan, the project would be part of a tax increment financing district approved by the Grand Rapids City Council and would also be supported by private investment that would equip a growing and manufacturing facility to produce oils for edibles and other THC products.
So – the state giving money to out of state companies to do a job plenty of Minnesota companies would love a shot at?
There are questions. Layers of them, in fact:
Giving the DFL money and power is like teenagers car keys and booze.
October 20th, 2023 at 6:36 am
Tip of the hat. That’s a fine bit of sarcasm in that xeet, formerly known as a tweet.
October 20th, 2023 at 7:22 am
This reminds me of the Chopstick Factory Jeno Paulucci built (with other people’s money) in Hibbing, or the Call Center Northwest Airlines built in Virginia (with other people’s money). If I remember correctly both of those enterprises collapsed when Other People’s Money ran out.
Once the enviro weenies figure out that this facility will be powered by coal/oil generate electricity we’ll get to watch 2 left wing factions squander the bulk of the funds for the lawyers they need to attack each other (with other people’s money).
Legislation written by lawyers to keep lawyers employed.
October 20th, 2023 at 8:53 am
“”Giving the DFL money and power is like teenagers car keys and booze.””
Beg to differ: the drunken teen just MIGHT make it home safe and unharmed. Giving a dhimmi cash will NEVER end up well.
October 20th, 2023 at 9:13 am
I agree jdm. That xeet was well played.
I noted earlier an abortive shopping experience I had in a Lakeville Walmart last week. Besides the oppressive locked up environment, the other thing I noticed was the smell of weed on several people walking around in there.
Frequent users don’t realize how bad they reek of ganj.
October 20th, 2023 at 10:04 am
^ Frequent users don’t realize much of anything at all 😉
I’ll have to say that I am not aware of any great benefits from the progressive removal of criminal restrictions on pot over the years. Like, “Boy, it sure is great that pot is legal, because…”.
October 20th, 2023 at 10:36 am
Interesting — a cannabis grow operation in GOP Grand Rapids. Their state Representative voted against the cannabis bill.
They would be smart to have a factory outlet store. After all — it’s a growth industry…..
October 20th, 2023 at 10:47 am
👆 Advice on growing weed from a chronic drunk & pathological liar, shacking up with his daughter in a run down hovel, on the shore of a mud pit in a crappy little town with a methadone dispensary
October 20th, 2023 at 11:05 am
Colorado was one of the first states to legalize weed. Their experience is worth noting.
https://dcj.colorado.gov/news-article/colorado-division-of-criminal-justice-publishes-report-on-impacts-of-marijuana
All in all, it hasn’t been a disaster, with a couple of exceptions:
– The number of people showing up for emergency medical treatment
*The weed being sold these days is x100 more potent than the shit Cheech and Chong were smoking. Most of the poisonings occur with eatable products which allow nitwits to ingest toxic amounts quickly
– Although arrest rates declined for all races and ethnicities, the marijuana arrest rate for Blacks (160 per 100,000) was more than double that of Whites (76 per 100,000) in 2019, which was an increase from the previous report when the ratio was 1.85:1.
Even when a thing is made legal, 80IQ blacks will find a way to make an illegal living from it rather than ever getting an honest job.
I’m waiting for people to start getting arrested for Hunter Bidening ATF form 4473:
“Are you an unlawful user of Marijuana or any depressant, stimulant or other controlled substance.
WARNING: THE USE OR POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA REMAINS UNLAWFUL UNDER FEDERAL LAW REGARDLESS IF IT HAS BEEN LEGALIZED OR DECRIMINALIZED IN THE STATE YOU RESIDE IN”
October 20th, 2023 at 11:10 am
This is great for Grand Rapids.
I would think a lumber mill has a sufficient electrical feed and water supply to run a grow operation. The Renovation will need to install a lot of equipment to control temperature and humidity. MN is humid in the summer and dry in the winter. Heating and cooling will need to be engineered and installed.
240,000 sq.ft can grow a lot of cannabis. If you had a 240,000 square foot grow area with good genetics at max capacity you could produce nearly 200,000 lbs of cannabis at 1200 dollars per pound per year. I don’t think this facility will come even close to those numbers but it should be successful.
October 20th, 2023 at 12:59 pm
Hoping it will reduce the wait time down at your local Methadone dispensary?
October 20th, 2023 at 2:08 pm
Pig.
Actually, a company called Sykes Services, built that call center with other people’s money, to serve as an outsourced IT help desk. As soon as the TIF expired, they pulled out, claiming unexpected loss of contracts. Had the morons at the IRRR done their due diligence, they would have learned that Sykes was notorious for this strategy. But, since the DemoCommies had to cater to their environazi benefactors by killing the mining industry, they had to scramble to make it appear that they were “doing something.”
October 20th, 2023 at 3:38 pm
Speaking of the Fix…The Senate just passed a resolution supporting Israel 97-0.
If Republicans all agree on something it’s suspicious. If Democrats all agree on something it’s problematic. If Republicans and Democrats all agree on something it’s a fucking red flag.
October 20th, 2023 at 3:45 pm
Wonder how the 10 (1%) dual citizen US Senators voted?
October 20th, 2023 at 5:03 pm
OK, they’re going to grow weed….which grows wonderfully outside….inside….why? And they’re going to give huge amounts of government money for this….why?
Maybe….they’re partaking a bit too much?
Regarding Emery’s numbers, a representative cost for an ounce of marijuana is about $10, which means that a pound would go for about $160 retail–or less in most places. In California and Colorado, the more mature industry is having huge problems as the high taxes push suppliers out of business. So I think that his numbers are….a bit optimistic, to put it mildly. Reduce the revenue projections by two or three orders of magnitude, and you’re closer to the truth. So we are talking instead of $240 million annually in revenue, maybe $2-3 million, and a huge portion of that revenue taken up in the cost of electricity (which open grow does not have), fertilizer, heat, and the like. I don’t think it comes close to covering the cost, which is what one would expect from the simple fact that they’re getting
I write this, FWIW, as someone who is somewhat supportive of legalizing marijuana, with the provision that we do good research regarding toxicity and other negative effects of use, just like we do with nicotine, alcohol, and the like.
I’ve got a friend who managed to control his back pain with basically half a joint per day–and then lost 150 lbs and managed to rejoin society. That may not be super common, but then again, I have to wonder if there are subpopulations out there for whom unorthodox treatments work wonderfully. Maybe we need to see about getting them through FDA qualifications.
October 21st, 2023 at 11:01 am
⬆️ Those figures came from a friend who is the COO from one Michigan’’s larger UP dispensaries. They have their own grow operation as well as edible production facilities. Quite the vertically integrated business model….
October 21st, 2023 at 11:08 am
BB — you should look at online dispensary menu prices. Ounces go from 100-300. I’ve never seen $10.00 oz at a dispensary. Perhaps you meant $10.00/grams
October 21st, 2023 at 12:39 pm
☝ Drugs and alcohol are the one subject I believe this moron is qualified to comment on.
“Dispensary menu prices” lmao…baked degenerates taking on aires is hilarious
October 21st, 2023 at 5:23 pm
emery, I’m going on what I saw that was promised, vs. what was achieved, in Colorado and California. All in all, legal marijuana is WILDLY overhyped. You also have the ugly fact that markups are huge, as is processing. You will get nowhere near the revenue those guys are claiming.
More or less, it’s the difference between unprocessed wholesale and processed retail prices (rolling the joints, etc., costs something–I’ve been acquainted with people who noted the work needed with tobacco, and it’s not just a little), and really, one ought not take claims at face value when you’re pretty darned sure the speaker has been smoking a fair amount of weed.
October 22nd, 2023 at 10:19 am
The number of licenses issued by the state for growers and dispensaries will determine the profitability for these entities. There is zero reason for tax dollars to be loaned for this Grand Rapids venture. There is a lot of money to be made in weed. Let those who will see the money fund it.
October 23rd, 2023 at 8:07 am
BB
In MN the Grand Rapids site will face steeply increasing costs going forward. As mentioned the facility will use a lot of electricity – that means Coal and natural gas which we now know to be morally wrong so the necessity for regulation is obvious. The state is already talking about strictly limiting if not outright banning the use of “non-organic” nitrogen fertilizer which means the facility will need to be strictly monitored for compliance. Indoor grow facilities need and work best with at least 5000ppm CO2 which will need to be contained and strictly monitored for compliance. Storage and shipping will need strong regulation and strict enforcement for compliance.
I see the illegal weed business booming because why pay full retail when you can buy discount?
October 23rd, 2023 at 9:23 am
Wait–they’re going to ban non-organic nitrogen? OK, so the entire farm belt is going to be screwed? Corn uses oodles of that stuff!
I’m not terribly against the notion that we’re planting too much corn, but….wow…
October 23rd, 2023 at 9:55 am
the “Green Energy Revolution” is the first energy revolution intended to make people poorer and to make travel, food, and housing more expensive.
You won’t even be allowed a pet fish.