Weed, Inc.

http://www.renaud-bray.com

http://www.renaud-bray.com

If you ask a young person today about weed, what comes to mind isn't rolling a joint or taking a bong hit, getting the munchies and chilling out. In fact, cannabis today is practically an entirely different product than what most people think it is, so before you start saying, 'What's the big deal about legalizing weed?' there's a lot you should know.The chill is gone and the heat is on. In the 1970s, mellowing out with a joint and a slice of pizza was a whole different experience?you'd have to smoke about 15 joints in 1970 to get the same high as just one joint in 2017. Yet today, if you talk to people who use recreational weed, more than likely they aren't even thinking about rolling one up?they're thinking 'concentrates.' Check this out: in the 1970s THC levels in cannabis were less than 4%, today it averages 25%, but in concentrates, THC levels can be as high as 80%, and that's where the train jumps the tracks. Concentrates contain the highest levels of THC available, and they come in a whole new form: thick oils, smooth buttery substances (wax), or rock-hard like a Jolly Rancher. You don't roll this stuff up and smoke it. In order to combust, these new forms require about 700 degrees of heat?you'd need a red-hot needle, super-heated knife, or a vaporizer made to handle that kind of heat (Did images of people smoking crack or meth come to mind? They should).There's always room for dessert! Ah yes – the booming appetite for edibles. Super-potent. You'd have to eat a whole pan of 'herb brownies' to get the concentration of THC that's in today's lollipops or gummies. How cool is that?Just ask kids?after all, they're the target market for weed and concentrates today. Since most older consumers have been using weed for decades, they're already on board. In Colorado, advertisements flood newspapers and billboards with two-for-ones, free samples, guest appearances by superheroes and adorable Koala spokes-bears on special days like, 'Waxy Wednesdays' and 'Shatterdays.' This young and growing market of kids are easily swayed by cool packaging and images like the one of Cookie Monster sharing a plate of 'special cookies,' which is painted on the outside of a Colorado dispensary located right beside a kindergarten.Industrialization?the key to safe, regulated products. Okay, now it really is time to wake up and smell the coffee. With industrialization comes political agendas, overpaid lobbyists, big marketing budgets, and not far behind, monopolies on manufacturing and distribution. Small farmers will feel the pinch as prices soar with the domination of corporate America under the guise of good old capitalism. There goes the neighborhood.