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Comment by dgzl | Hacker News Reader

> Retailers and growers say they’ve been stunted by complex regulations, high taxes

I can't say I'm surprised. As someone who grew up on the Oregon border of California on i5, locals here complain about California's influence on the local economy and politics. (E.g. buying expensive land, driving taxes up)

However in Oregon, I believe our problem is with oversaturation of the market. From what I understand (not rehearsed in the subject), we literally have to give the stuff away because there's so much. For anyone who knows/cares, it's not unheard of for places to sell quality marijuana for as low as $48/ounce, which is very cheap.

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Washington state took a careful evaluation before putting rules in place. They decided to target a certain percentage of the black market, both in price and distribution. Two years in, the supply is ample for the legal market, businesses are profiting and the state is making money.

The fear was was that nobody would pay for a more expensive product if you could get it cheaper, but customers like the idea of buying a product with a consistent price and quality.

For comparison, you can easily pay $500/oz on the east coast.

Dear my. Have you considered smoking saffron, truffles, beluga caviar, or Hewlett-Packard color inkjet cartridges? You're paying 2 to 10 times as much.

> it's not unheard of for places to sell quality marijuana for as low as $48/ounce, which is very cheap

When I look at other dried herbs on amazon, they're much cheaper. E.g. thyme is about $10 for 12 ounces, oregano is $13 for 5 ounces.

Weed obviously has higher taxes, more regulation and I presume a smaller market (most people consume culinary herbs as part of their diet, not everybody consumes weed). But I'd expect the price to come down once the regulations disappear.

First off, marijuana is a flower, not an herb.

Second off, much work goes into developing and stabilising a strain.

Thirdly, high quality MJ is grown indoors, with artificial lighting.

Fourthly, it requires a curing process.

To clarify a few hort points : flowers are part of the herb and are treated / sold as herbs in the herb trade. A few common examples : Chamomile, Calendula, rose [R. gallica]

Generally, all herbs require curing [e.g., fan-driven air drying at a specific temperature] if not sold fresh; in addition, the work of developing a cultivar or strain is similar for a great many trade herbs that are farmed as opposed to gathered in the wild [e.g., the numerous types of basil, F1 hybrids of parsley, valerian cultivars of varying potency, etc etc]

The canonical “most expensive” spice by weight is saffron, which seems to retail at between $30 and $300 an ounce depending on quality.

FWIW saffron is the dried stigma of the saffron crocus crocus sativa so only a small part of the flower

> and I presume a smaller market (most people consume culinary herbs as part of their diet, not everybody consumes weed)

On the contrary, I know plenty of people who consume large amounts of concentrates and don't use much herbs and seasonings with their food. I suppose unless we're counting third party foods, in which case you might be right.

> But I'd expect the price to come down once the regulations disappear

Prohibition might disappear, but I doubt when marijuana is treated as a legal psychoactive drug it will be unregulated, or even merely regulated the way culinary herbs are.

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