Costs are not that much after the initial equipment purchase....and the felony drug charge is moot. The care giver chose to take on that responsibility..he wasn't forced.
what's it cost to set up a 72 plant grow? 10-15 thousand? after that, it's basically electricity and minimal supplies. operating costs may reach 3 grand a month..including amortization of the original equipment....tale 6k off that 19k every two months, and thats around $80,000 per year in gross profits. and that's at only 200 per oz...bump it up to 250 an oz..and your back to 6 figures per year..for tending 72 plants....an executive wage for a part time gardeners work.
Dude,there is merit to the high ideals you represent & i personaly think your ideals are noble but your way off base here bro.
First off the felony drug charge you so quickly dismiss as being moot most definately needs to be taken into consideration,a possible felony charge goes hand in hand with being a patient in the program,the more plants as patient numbers rise the increased risk of a felony charge,weather the felony charge stems from a deliberate violation,honest mistakes or from the ambiguity of several areas within the law the risk is present,any businessman would be neglectfull not to allocate funds for future legal issues,being forced has nothing to do with it,the caregiver is running the grow as a business & legal fees are a business expense,as with all businesses.
I think the $80,000 figure you posted in the above quote is not reachable for most caregivers,no clubs pay $200 a zip anymore unless its very small quantity,like a few zips a month,most clubs who buy large quantities from a single caregiver keep the buy price at $125 to $150,the more weight the caregiver runs thru the club the lower his price,its volume buying & its how business is done,most cargivers who run weight are getting the low end at $125 a zip & thats the reality of it,there are so many new vendors springing up daily the clubs will not pay high dollar no matter how much they charge,when dealing with large quantity its a buyers market nowdays.
Another issue is the per plant harvest weights you list at 3 zips per plant,in a small grow that is fairly accurate but in a mass grow of 72 plants its not reachable for most,the larger the grow the more problems arise,crowded conditions cause less overall weight,it also increases issues such powdery mildew & mold,excessive humidity & or temp issues,also the large grows tend to have alot more low quality buds,the cramped conditions cause much more popcorn,immature,under light & fluffy buds than in a small grow,a more realistic per plant harvest weight is about 2 zips per in big grows.
If the for profit caregiver is running his 72 plant grow as a real business he has overhead,building costs/rent,utilitys,materials such as soil,hydroponic mediums,fertilizers,water testing/correction instruments,HID light bulbs,carbon filters,ozone generator bulbs ect,these items need replaced constantly,a good grower will replace all bulbs every harvest,carbon filters & ph & ppm instruments every 6 months to a year,the only gear that dont need constant replacement is ballasts & hoods,all other gear is constantly replaced.
Now you have the time involved for the grower to consider,man hours are spent not only in the garden but in grow shops acquiring supplys,online supplys,paying the utility bills for the business ,taking goods to market then return trips to get paid,mileage & wear n tear on a vehicle as well as vehicle maintainance ect,every last hour or dollar spent that has ANYTHING at all to do with the grow needs to be accounted for because its time or money the grower could be spending in other areas of his life,its alot more than just a part time job once you figure in all time spent.
Here is what i come up with for a 72 plant grow with a fresh cutting to harvestable plant day count at a 3 month time frame.
72 plants at 2 ounces top quality dry bud comes to approx 150 ounces,vended to club for $150 an ounce for a total of $22,000 per harvest,at 4 harvests per year we hit $88,000 yearly gross for bud.
Now we have secondary vendables made from popcorn,trimmings,moldy bud,immature bud ect,figured at half ounce per plant which gives approx 75 ounces hash fodder,for simplicity sake all fodder is made into hashish,one ounce of top quality fodder will yeild approx 3 to 5 grams raw hashish,total vendable hashish at around 350 grams.
Clubs no longer pay top dollar for hashish as its not a big seller at any club,the standard volume buy price is $200 an ounce for volume hashish vending,at roughly 12 ounces secondary vendables sold at $200 per ounce add another $2,500 income to the quarterly gross x 4 times yearly & we add another $10,000 to the yearly gross.
Total yearly gross of all vendables is $98,000.
Monthly expenses for a properly maintained indoor grow running 72 plants should run roughly $1,000 a month,this includes power,water & replacing bulbs,soil,nutes,hydro mediums ect,that comes to $3,000 per harvest x 4 totals out at $12,000 per year.
Total gross income at $98,000 minus $12,000 yearly expenses & the gross is $73,000 per year.
Time spent in the actual grow tending garden should be roughly 4 hours a day x 90 days,that comes out to 360 hours a harvest,add the hours spent trimming at 8 hours per lb at roughly 10 lbs each harvest & we add another 80 hours a harvest for a total of 440 man hours,then add 1 hour per lb for material handeling durring the dry/cure process & you add another 10 hours per harvest for a grand total of 450 man hours spent tending garden.
Now you have time involved with the weekly trips to the club at 3 hours twice weekly & you add roughly another 50 man hours to total time spent bring the man hour total to roughly 500 man hours per harvest.
All this works out to 2,000 man hours per year for a pre tax gross income of $73,000 a year,who is getting rich here ? Also keep in mind the dollar values i quoted are on the very high side,at the more realistic buy price of $125 an ounce for bud & $150 a ounce for hash the figures are much lower.
Has the younger generation become so accustomed to poverty where we now consider a yearly pre tax imcome of $73,000 to be a high paid job ? My retirement benifits from 32 years on the job pay me more than that so i ask again,who is getting rich here ?
This idea you have where big volume vendors running 70 plant grows are pulling in $200 to $250 an ounce does not reflect the market at all.
If the vendor does everything perfect all year long he will only end up with a job that pays roughly what the average auto worker in the state makes,why is this such a problem for you that people are able to support their family at an above poverty standard off growing mj ?
You paint a picture of a bunch of extremely sick people who desperately need mj as a medicine being taken advantage of,all the while their caregiver is leading some luxury life without any real effort.
Reality is more along these lines where back ache fakers who wouldnt be prescribed a tylenol 3 at a real doctor get certified in the program,then sell the grow rights to the highest paying caregiver,then dump him like a stone as soon as another caregiver promises them an extra 1/4 ounce a month.
Whats odd to me is how you can be so offended & angry at people who profit from med mj & not show the same repulsion for the tens of thousands of people taking part in the program who clearly have no real medical need for mj .
Last figures i knew were that over 40% of all people taking part in the program were males under the age of 25 yrs old,most of the program serves those who have no real medical issue that would warrant even the weakest prescription drug like a tylenol 3 or a .5 mg valium,wheres the outrage ?
Again i think your values & ideals are in the right place but i dont think you look at it from more than a very narrow standpoint.
