The commercial Cannabis permit application process is a sting operation. No experienced, underground grower is going to red flag himself by applying.
First of all, they would have to suspend current operations in order to pass inspection. Secondly, they need deep pockets to be approved along with a clean criminal background. If they've ever been busted for weed there is no need in applying anyway, and they can't very well declare any substantial finances which haven't been laundered.
If they were to apply and get rejected, then they will be under constant surveillance from now on, and would quickly be put out of business and sent to prison if they continued to operate underground. This is why only the inexperienced entrepreneurs and big time organized crime syndicates will managed to obtain an commercial license, and why only low quality product will be sold in stores.
The tax is the reason why prices will remain high which maintains for the underground old school professionals a competitive edge.
As long as we keep asking permission the answer will always be no. Rights have to be asserted. Boycott the dispensaries and retail stores. Fuck virtual legalization. End the Prohibition.
Furthermore, your allusion to boutique beer crafters is delusional. Most all of the modern hybrid strains have been bred by vastly experienced pioneers in the Emerald Triangle, British Columbia, Amsterdam, and Spain. Train Wreck, Northern Lights and Oregon Thai, notwithstanding. Any new strains of any worth will not be created by fast buck scammers and organized crime syndicates.
First of all, they would have to suspend current operations in order to pass inspection. Secondly, they need deep pockets to be approved along with a clean criminal background. If they've ever been busted for weed there is no need in applying anyway, and they can't very well declare any substantial finances which haven't been laundered.
If they were to apply and get rejected, then they will be under constant surveillance from now on, and would quickly be put out of business and sent to prison if they continued to operate underground. This is why only the inexperienced entrepreneurs and big time organized crime syndicates will managed to obtain an commercial license, and why only low quality product will be sold in stores.
The tax is the reason why prices will remain high which maintains for the underground old school professionals a competitive edge.