Marijuana (Cannabis) is the most medical plant on the planet. With the adaption of recreational marijuana, it’s been encouraging to see that States medical programs are still thriving.
Most people in the Maine marijuana industry freaked out when the conversation of recreational began. Thinking back on how devise the months leading up to the vote were is actually agonizing. Everyone that was currently growing (the OGs that have been in the game a while anyway) were extremely worried about big business coming into Maine and pushing the culture out. Lets hope that doesn’t happen, but we are optimistic it won’t. It remains to be seen what will happen to the medical marijuana industry in Maine, but we have a few thoughts on why it will stay around.
First off taxes and price. The financial advantage (currently) for small and medium size medical marijuana growers to stay the course and not go recreational are taxes. As for now, cannabis caregivers tax burdens are lower than whats being proposed for recreational. The idea is the lower cost to operate will continue to translate into a more affordable end product to the patient. Medical cannabis is typically 20% less than recreational marijuana. And a higher quality, which leads to our next advantage.
Maine Medical Marijuana
Smaller batch cannabis is almost always better than mass produced flower. This is a no brainer and translates to every product in every industry. This is assuming the grower is talented. Medical marijuana caregivers typically have more experience than commercial growers, as they have been growing for much longer, outlaw style. Its outlaw old school experience versus Chads with degrees in horticulture. I’ll take the high school dropout with 25 years grow experience over someone with a horticulture degree from Harvard. The finest cannabis in the country is grown by medical marijuana growers. A lot of them are in the process of making the switch to recreational marijuana, which has been difficult as they don’t usually have the financial means of traditional businesses. You’ve heard it a million times, folks go to dispensaries all over the US and tell us the product does not compare to their local home grown product. Everyone knows that on the whole, mass produced recreational cannabis will never compare to small batch, Whether you are a medical caregiver or not. Just look at the liquor industry where there is a huge emergence of small batch craft beers and distilleries.
Plants are not supposed to be grown inside. The larger the room or environment, the harder it is to control. 800 square foot grow rooms are much easier to control than 8,000. When you grow in an immense indoor space, you are opening yourself up to more difficulties with temperatures, humidity, VPD swings, pests, human and technological error. That said, there are absolutely some monster grows out there doing it right with high quality, but that seem to be the exception not the rule.
Knowledge and customer interests. Caregivers countrywide are known for the empathy and understanding they have for the end consumer (patient). Cannabis caregivers have been custom growing, dosing and dispensing on a one on one level for decades. No one knows cannabinoids better than a medical marijuana caregiver. For decades caregivers have been treating patients with ailments raging from epilepsy to back pain. Cannabis is a medicine but not an exact science. There are hundreds of variations of cannabinoids, terpenes, fats proteins, flavinoids etc… in cannabis. How these combinations, called the entourage effect, interact with all of us individually can vary immensely. Nothing but experience will qualify as expertise.
