Right now, I think, the most important thing is to get as many producers, vendors & consumers as possible on the right side of *legal*. Once initiated, as we've done in Colorado, the process should build on itself, spread relatively quickly. We're experiencing a paradigm shift that, once completed, will mean no going back. The reality of cannabis legalization is very different from the myths of prohibitionist raving, so the more people are exposed to it through MMJ & state level legalization the more quickly this will progress.
It'll take some getting used to for some. Not the reality of it, but rather the idea of it. What they'll see is that they experience no harm. Not a lot will change other than more openness about it, more tax revenues, better community relations for LEO's.
If I were sitting on my front porch smoking a joint & a cop came up, I wouldn't even blink, nor would they, I suspect. It's not a crime as far as either one of us is concerned, not in Denver. If the smell of growing pot escapes the premises, the only thing of any concern is being ripped off.
I'm all in favor of the compromises inherent in A64 necessary to achieve that. Big money get richer quick interests? Come on down, try your hand at it, and anybody else who wants to give it a go. The more clout & the more money on the legal side of the fence, the better. We'll sort out some of the details down the road, when the rest of Colorado is sure that they have nothing to fear.
Washington State lacks personal growing provisions, which I see as a bad mistake, an invitation to authoritarians. Washington authorities will still bust you for growing your own, but in Colorado they'll play Hell even getting a search warrant. I don't see the Feds bothering personal growers, either, not unless they think you're a lot bigger than that.
I tend to agree with you about it not being a cottage industry for long, but that's just business. Current retail licensing fees are too high for all but relatively larger operations, by design. OTOH, medical hasn't changed, either. Come 2016, any number of changes can be made. Hopefully, there will be a place for specialty growers in a market kinda like wine- there's Mad Dog & there's exquisite California chardonnay & everything in between.
What the market really craves are distinctive brand name reliable products at all levels. We'll know what we want before we walk in the door, maybe try something else, too, just for variety. Reliable brand names take the guesswork out of it.
