Wanting to join the cannibis industry

Hello,
This is my first posts but i have been reading for months on RIU... the thing is that i want to join the cannabis industry but where i live it is not legal at this moment in time. I was just wondering if anyone else can share their experience with me if they have one similar to mine..I want to move out of state and grow medical marijuana for dispensaries because i feel like my green thumb has alot to offer and it by far is my passion. I once wanted to become a pharamacist or doctor because I wanted to help people... but I soon realized what those drugs do to people. Ever since my experiences I have had a passion for growing medical marijuana and i was wondering how hard it is to establish yourself in California... I have heard how expensive it was....

I feel like I am at a crossroad.. stay in NC and hope one day i wake up and society one day accepts medical marijuana...or do something NOW and get out of this place...

please help!

people just dont seem to understand.. you cant just start growing for a dispensary

its not anywhere where near that easy.... you need to look into it more before you make decisions

I wouldnt move out of state and expect to be growing for a dispensary and support yourself right away. If you come to california and want to grow medicine for a legit dispensary, it is hard! You have to have high quality medicine and coming from NC, it will take you a while to get used to grow the caliber of medicine offered in california. Their are many people like yourself, that don;t want to do anything but donate their medicine to a dispensary and lately the quality has been going up and up. It's a tough industry to get in to if you havent been around it for years. Hopefully they legalize medical marijuana in NC and you can help people in your area right away, but as far as coming to california i wouldn't do it just to grow medicine, because finding a decent regular job is pretty tough right now and nothing is cheap in california, especially pot related. Good luck hope everything goes well for you.

Yeah... thanks 4 the input. Don't get me wrong I have had plenty of great medicine (Blue Dream, Cheese, WW, Top Dog, Headband, etc.) from california and no doubt in my mind that i could produce something of that quality and already have... it just really sucks here in NC doing it under closed doors. I plan on attending Oaksterdam university and going for this thing 100%. I want to find out what I need to do as an individual to try and make this thing legal for everyone. I think it would deffinately open tons of jobs possibly bring this country out of debt?? Maybe lower suicide rate...idk?? It disguist me that i am 21 years old and i could go to the bar get drunk and possibly kill someone on the way home but i cant buy a joint at the bar?? Makes no sense.. I am really passionate about helping people such as myself because I know that medical marijuana has done alot more for me than any pill.......with no side effects. They do always say the grass is greener on the other side....

Sounds like you're dedicated.... good luck!

I say grow there and build your own market underground just be professinal have your own bizz

we'll see what happens!! Please post if you have experiences like mine thanks everyone for the support!

dont...there's no money in it...work at walmart...

Go with your passion! However, carefully review your options, research, and the ramifications of your decision as it will definitely affect your life. Are you sure you want to move and not wait for your state to approve their MMP status? This is a rough draft that is in your state bill.

"§ 90‑727. Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1) "Adequate supply" means an amount of marijuana possessed by a qualified patient or collectively possessed by a qualified patient and the qualified patient's designated caregiver that is not more than is reasonably necessary to assure the uninterrupted availability of marijuana for the purpose of alleviating the symptoms or effects of qualifying patient's debilitating medical condition and that is derived solely from the intrastate source; provided that an "adequate supply" shall not exceed a garden with up to 100 square feet of total garden canopy of mature female marijuana plants, measured by the combined vegetative growth area, and 24 ounces of usable marijuana. If usable marijuana is added as an ingredient to food, salve, tincture, or any other preparation to be consumed or used by a registered qualifying patient, the weight of the other ingredients that are not usable marijuana shall not be included for purposes of determining whether a registered qualified patient possesses more usable cannabis than permitted under this section.

i say either grow there and make your own market, or do a lot of reasearch on how to become involed in this, and see if it is even worth it to give up your home out there, move to CA, set up your grow, then hope you can make enought to live on. Just grow for fun, and work for a hobby.

jake off14 said:

I plan on attending Oaksterdam university and going for this thing 100%.

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uh oh. If you think you can go to oaksterdam to learn how to be a legit medical grower, you're going to be very disappointed. If you've never grown before, it might be a nice place to get you started. But Oaksterdam will NOT give you the skills needed to do anything in the medical cannabis business.

If you are going to get involved in the medical industry, you better be motivated. The competition is no joke. If you think it's going to be all about getting high all day, you're going to be disappointed.

I live in the heart of the medical cannabis movement and have difficulty. You want some advise? Quietly, and anonymously, push for for legislation in your state. If you have any qualifying conditions under your state new bill, start getting seen for them now. Have it BEFORE they pass the law. It helps, trust me. Secondly, read the damn laws. Before you do anything illegal, consult an attorney. If you can't afford to talk to one, you can't afford the consequences of growing in your state. Wait, and help where you can.

Dan Kone said:

uh oh. If you think you can go to oaksterdam to learn how to be a legit medical grower, you're going to be very disappointed. If you've never grown before, it might be a nice place to get you started. But Oaksterdam will NOT give you the skills needed to do anything in the medical cannabis business.

If you are going to get involved in the medical industry, you better be motivated. The competition is no joke. If you think it's going to be all about getting high all day, you're going to be disappointed.

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So, can you give me personal experience about Oaksterdam ? I am going to attend soon and have been wanting some actual advice from someone that's actually attended ? Dont mean to hijack.

Warrentheape said:

So, can you give me personal experience about Oaksterdam ? I am going to attend soon and have been wanting some actual advice from someone that's actually attended ? Dont mean to hijack.

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It was interesting and I felt it was worth the money. It gives you a little bit of general information on most aspects of the cannabis industry. It does not give you enough detailed information to do anything well.

These forums are much more informative than those classes in terms of learning to grow. There was some misinformation and the two instructors generally contradicted each other and one of them was obviously sponsored by a particular nutrient company and was basically just advertising their products. The methods they taught for growing were more geared towards someone who wanted to grow a few plants in their closet. If you wanted to really blow up a spot to make money that info is basically useless.

The guy who taught the classes about working in a dispensary and concentrates was really smart and informative. It stopped short of being informative when it came to the topic of opening up your own business, but it really isn't in their best interest to teach people how to do that. When dealing with Richard Lee or Oaksterdam, they are NEVER going to tell you anything that goes against their interests.

The cooking teacher rocked too. I don't know shit about cooking, and I did walk away with enough information to make my own edibles. I still suck at cooking, so they come out in a variety of qualities ranging from really bad to half way decent. But it isn't their fault I suck at cooking. The recipes are good.

The lawyers they had speaking and cannabis law were really interesting. They gave a really good class on the history of cannabis law with information you can't really get anywhere else. Unfortunately when talking about current medical cannabis law, most of the laws you really need to be concerned with are local and county laws/guidelines/enforced polices. They went into detail about Oakland cannabis law, but there is no way they could cover all the bay area counties.

Then they had Dennis Peron come in to speak about prop 215 and the history of medical cannabis. That was fucking amazing. Made the whole thing worth it. Was really cool to hear the real stories from the guy who started it all. Best story teller ever. Unfortunately he's not with them anymore.

Over all I thought it was really interesting but lacking in terms of useful information from my point of view. But then again I had already been involved in the medical cannabis business for quite a while before I went there. It was geared more towards people who are just getting started and know nothing about the business.

well yeah I already know how to grow cannibis but I was really interested in making it a career not just something to put in my closet and work at papa johns my whole life. So I guess going to Oaksterdam would not be beneficial? I'm just trying to get everything under my belt that i may need in the future especially the legalities and whatnot that they cover at Oaksterdam. I just really want to jump on the bandwagon before it's too late and im in my 50's working my ass off for nothing.

jake off14 said:

well yeah I already know how to grow cannibis but I was really interested in making it a career not just something to put in my closet and work at papa johns my whole life. So I guess going to Oaksterdam would not be beneficial? I'm just trying to get everything under my belt that i may need in the future especially the legalities and whatnot that they cover at Oaksterdam. I just really want to jump on the bandwagon before it's too late and im in my 50's working my ass off for nothing.

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It's not going to hurt. I don't know if it's going to help you or not. Depends on what you know. There is nothing taught in the legal classes at oaksterdam that is going to help you that you couldn't look up your self on ASA's website. As far as growing goes, if you already can grow then those growing classes are a waist of time. If you're going to grow commercially for medical dispensaries in California you're going to want to talk to a laywer local to your county ahead of time anyways. That lawyer is going to be able to give you more information about what you can do legally in your area in 10 minutes than what oaksterdam is going to give you total.

I don't know about moving to CA to start your cannabis career. With the possibility of it becoming legal soon, who knows what's going to happen? Will it be worse or better (for your career)? Seems like, at the very least, another state would be a better choice.

Yeah thats what i was thinking....CA is too all the way across the country and ive lived in one house my whole life so that would be a big change. Thanks for all the help just wonder what my next step will be..just try to get meds for myself for the most part...NC meds suck.

jake off14 said:

Yeah thats what i was thinking....CA is too all the way across the country and ive lived in one house my whole life so that would be a big change. Thanks for all the help just wonder what my next step will be..just try to get meds for myself for the most part...NC meds suck.

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The problem is that you've kinda missed the boat in California. You'd be way better off getting in on a state with an emerging medical cannabis market rather than one that is already well established. It's not impossible to break into the California market, but the competition is really tough at this point. If you don't already have connections and you're not producing top shelf, it's REALLY hard to break into the market.

The time to get in on things is when they are just starting. If you are willing to work hard and go into a new market, you will have a much greater chance for success.

People think they can come to cali, get some clones from Oaksterdam, grow them out, sell it, and be rich. But the truth is that if you do that then you're now growing the same thing as every grower in California. The clubs already have vendors they've been working with for a long time who are selling them these strains so the only way they are buying yours is if they are a much better quality, cheaper, and you're willing to give it to them on consignment.

That being said, if you're shit really is better and cheaper they will take it. But you have to remember your competition is not a bunch of stoner kids, it's professional commercial growers who've been in the game for years and are very good at what they do.

If I didn't have the connections for quality rare genetics and relationships with club owners/buyers that I do, I don't know if I'd be able to break into the game at this point.

If you really want to be successful in the medical cannabis industry I'd go to california, get all the best genetics I could, then take them to another state with an emerging medical industry and get in on the ground floor.