Grass in the yard: everything about marijuana production in America

There's grass in the yard: in several American states that have allowed the sale and production of marijuana, professional gardeners are increasingly changing their qualifications. From peaceful botanists they turn into real Vavilovs - they develop new and new varieties of cheerful and calming, light and strong potions with more than worthy names: “Chernobyl”, “God’s Gift”, “Jesus”, “Pineapple Paradise” and “Cinderella’s Dream” . ForumDaily visited several private plantations on the West Coast - in Oregon and Washington - visited glassblowing production and even found out prices for retail trade.

Michael

An unremarkable barn in an industrial area of ​​Seattle houses not only a travel company, but also a glass blowing shop, an art workshop, and even a small museum. Here is KUSH, one of Seattle's largest tour operators with an unusual specialty: organizing tours of Washington's marijuana fields.

There are more than 200 of them in the state: some are located in the same industrial area, a few blocks from KUSH, some are in the province, with ocean views and 3-day tastings of the plantation's fruits. True, in specially designated places.

Tours are led by Michael Gordon. His mother is Japanese, his father is from Dnepropetrovsk. Michael speaks only English and looks at me as if I were an accomplice, telling me that he has long preferred a couple of puffs of potion to a glass of wine. I honestly admit: it was precisely because I never lost my marijuana innocence that they sent me to write about it, because they were absolutely sure that I would not hang out with a joint in Seattle, on the bay.

Michael immediately says:

There is a caveat to smoking on the bayside: according to state law, you can, at best, consume cannabis in the yard of your own home. But certainly not on the street or in a bar. There are, however, a couple of places and even special hostels, but smoking in them is only allowed for guests. And if you buy it “as a gift,” keep in mind: I don’t recommend taking it out of Washington - the laws of many American states are not so liberal, you’ll end up in jail for your dear soul.

The use of “weed” for medical purposes is legal in 24 US states and the District of Columbia - compassionate doctors write it out to patients as a cure for seizures, depression, headaches, and a rather impressive list of diseases. But the sale of cannabis without a prescription is allowed only in Colorado, Washington and Alaska. True, you can only trade in designated areas, only for cash, and at the entrance, everyone must check the identity card.

Take a closer look at parking lots in Seattle: smoke billows from cars, police drive by on Segways - no reaction to the characteristic smell. Do you know why? Because you definitely won’t get imprisoned for a “joint” here - the police are interested in more serious things.

Michael takes me on a short excursion - he would charge a tourist $50 or more for such a story, depending on the client’s wishes. Michael demonstrates his glassblowing workshop with some pride - you can make a bong with your own hands, paint it in the colors of the rainbow, or leave it transparent and small. The main task of a mini-school: students should not only make beautiful, but also functional things.

A special source of pride for glassblowers is the bong guitar. You can play and smoke at the same time - the guitar sounds great and produces smoke. It costs a lot - more than $15 - and is considered a work of modern art.

Michael laughs: whether you smoke from a guitar like this, from a small bong, or just roll yourself a joint, the method does not affect the strength of the weed. It's like comparing whether bourbon is stronger depending on whether you drink it from a bottle or from a glass - it's more about the aesthetic component.

Jeff

Jeff is a professional gardener. He knows everything about plants: that mint, no matter where you plant it, will eat basil, and how much sun peonies need. He used to work on a mini-vegetable and seedling farm. Since Washington legalized the sale of marijuana, a new job found him: Jeff's neighbor, Omar, decided to open his own plantation. Now they are partners - Jeff knows how to care for the plants, develop new varieties and make sure that there are no “boys” in the women’s marijuana “monastery”: the best bushes are female, the male ones must be disposed of immediately.

Not without pride, he shows the plantation - it is in the same hangar as KUSH, but instead of the carefree Michael, a security guard meets us at the entrance: I show my driver’s license and look at three big guys plucking huge marijuana bushes that look like trees from unnecessary leaves .

Next to them, a woman of years 50 collapses "kosyachki."

Jeff laughs: here she is, breaking stereotypes. Did you expect to see a bunch of hipsters in hats and beards? It's like a Cuban cigar: I really want to believe that they are rolled up by young girls on the inside of the thigh. Maria does this to us, she is already a grandmother.

Grandma diligently rolls several thousand cigarettes during her working day and complains that a radio or reading aloud would be useful - playing along with our near-Cuban jokes. Each roll-up contains about a quarter of a gram of marijuana; the finished “joints” are packaged in 7 pieces in tin boxes that look like antique cigarette cases.

Jeff shows the plantation: in the first room there are young shoots. All of them are the product of selection and cloning, no seeds - only shoots. Of the 20, the strongest survive; they remain in this room for the first 2-3 weeks of life. The clones are absolutely identical only at first glance - with characteristic elongated leaves and a specific smell. Jeff placed signs of different colors: those with red ones lift your spirits, green ones increase your tone, doctors especially love them, yellow ones calm you down and make you happy.

My favorite pastime is coming up with names for new varieties. We have one with a particularly strong sedative effect, called “Chernobyl”. I came up with this. And then there is “Jesus” - that’s the name of Mary, the one who rolls joints, and that’s the name of her son. When she heard how we named the new variety, she was not at all offended, but especially religious people sometimes fly into righteous anger, and I tell them: try it, perhaps you will feel love for the first time.

When the plants grow up, they are transplanted into larger pots, sometimes the fun-loving ones are crossed with the relaxing ones - the result is a “seasonal mixture”, like in a restaurant.

Each plant is assigned its own personal number - you put the scanner on and immediately see: how much water was given, how much sun was given, when it was planted, what it was crossed with, when to move it to the next room.

It is called the yellow or “flower” room - 4-month-old marijuana “trees” live here, waiting for the so-called “flowers” ​​to appear; they should turn yellow or even turn amber. Then a big guy in rubber gloves will come and carefully cut down the plant.

Unnecessary leaves will be cut off from it - they can be sent for processing and made into creams, oils, shampoos or even marijuana vodka.

The remaining “flowers” ​​still on the stems will be left to dry - at this stage the state already insures each plant. The cost is about $900 in case of fire or robbery.

Then they are sorted, the flowers are cut, brushed and sent into jars - from a distance they look like jasmine rolled green tea.

Lobster

When Omar started this business, he knew all about how to apply - online, like a lottery, and wait for the win and, accordingly, approval. He knew exactly about the taxes that he would have to pay on all his profits - about 50% on everything: for deliveries to stores and for sales to customers. Now they have been reduced at the legislative level to 37%. Omar also knew that every day the state Alcohol and Drug Control Commission could come to check on him. Now he simply sends them the results of weekly tests of new products obtained from the laboratory - how strong the weed has grown, what the THC content is (sometimes it is so high that his products simply cannot be sold).

I am very glad that after the legalization of marijuana, it was seriously taken up at a scientific level - many state colleges have introduced its production into their curriculum, medical centers are doing a lot of research on its effect on the human body. And the most important thing: until recently, weed was bought from hand, in gateways, and the only one who made money from it was the drug mafia. Now prices have dropped several times - a gram at retail will cost approximately $10-11, although its cost is $1,5. But no trade under the counter. You can drink wine, you can choose a joint to suit your mood.

Omar and I immediately start discussing cars in parking lots and guys smoking in them. He frowns: smoking inside and driving after that are not the same thing. The punishment will be the same as for drunk driving: the police are developing a scheme for analyzing and assessing whether the driver is adequate enough. Omar is strict on this issue: if you smoke, don’t drive.

He smokes sometimes - a little and not at work: there are cameras everywhere and, by law, smoking is strictly prohibited here.

Jeremiah

He can and should smoke: his profession is a tester. He smokes at home, no longer hiding from his mother - he is over 21 years old. He says that he has been using weed since high school, but now using it is his job responsibility. He must meticulously describe the sensations, fears, speed of “coming”, the amount of food he consumed before and after.

It's a cool job: after packing weed all day, you can come home and smoke it, because that's also work. I won’t say how much I earn, but I definitely have enough for bread.

Arguments and Facts

According to UN statistics, about 4% of the world's population smokes weed—that's 158.8 million people. Another 94 million, including US President Bill Clinton, admitted to procrastinating at least once.

In addition, according to research by The ArcView Group, the cannabis market is one of the fastest growing in the United States. In 2014 alone it grew by 71%. This is not surprising - even celebrities are actively investing in marijuana plantations and developments - Sting, George Clooney, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston and Megan Fox, Snoop Dogg and Justin Timberley. George Soros donated nearly a million dollars to the campaign to legalize weed; however, it remains unknown whether the patron himself smokes.

Only 250 of US banks (out of almost 8 thousand) invested in this area due to the specificity of the business and the uncertainty of its status.

Despite this, the legalization of marijuana in almost half of the American states has caused the so-called “green” boom - consulting agencies for growing marijuana, opening relevant stores and businesses producing hemp-based cosmetics are growing by leaps and bounds. A guide to organizing will cost $2000-2500, advice - about $500 for a one-time consultation, a business plan taking into account the specific legislation of each state - almost $1000.

The hemp business has opened thousands of jobs - from testers to sommeliers, marijuana delivery services, dating sites based on interests, themed tours of farms and plantations, confectioneries producing donuts, candies and cakes based on cannabis.

Representatives of the federal authorities are happy about this rapidly growing popularity of weed - their budgets annually receive billions of dollars, which are used to maintain and develop infrastructure, roads, playgrounds and support for the poor. But most importantly, the legal marijuana market is much easier to control.

Read also on ForumDaily:

What are the cities in which they legalized marijuana

Legal use of marijuana: what you need to know

Grass in the law: how smoking marijuana affects your body

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.