16/04/2015
Hey Folks,
I want to share a comparison I make with folks that I talk to in person about amounts of cannabis and home grows.
Lets trade cannabis for grapes for a moment.
If you are looking to find out how many wine bottles you can legally have in your cellar, well there is no law or limit for that. There is no concern that you will be going into the black market wine distribution business.
Can I make homemade wine at my home for private consumption?
Yes. A license is not required if the wine is for private consumption and is not for sale.
Please note:
Homemade wine is not required to be consumed in the home where it was produced.
Homemade wine may be removed from the home for private consumption.
The amount of homemade wine an adult may remove from the home is 20 gallons.
Use of homemade wine at organized affairs, exhibitions, or competitions is considered private consumption.
So as long as you don't sell your wine or move more than 20 gallons, nobody really cares. Honestly if you think that private unregulated sales don't occur, well, there is a bridge somewhere for sale that you may want to look into.
So lets recap:
Wine; as many bottles as you want to have privately and you can share and transport up to 20 gallons.
Cannabis: you may not share, you are limited in the amount of cannabis you can have at one time and you are not allowed to transport more than 3 ounces.
Lets also take a look at the explosion of growth in the industry.
Wineries-
1981 - 19 wineries
2015 - 850+ wineries
Production
1981 - 2.0 million gallons (7.5 m liters)
2010 - 20.1 million gallons (76.1 m liters)
Yet we heard time and time again, about access by minors, a pot shop on every corner and claims of the wild wild west.
Where is this concern over wine?
When they changed the law to allow beer and wine to be shared and transported this was the message...
To allow enjoyment of homemade beer and wine as a savored and respected component of Washington culture.
No concern about increased access, no concern about the ill effects of having more alcohol available just savor the Washington wine culture...
Here is how it should work with Cannabis in Washington.
1. Unlimited plant counts for private growing,
2, Unlimited possession amounts for private consumption.
3, Ability to share cannabis as long as there is no compensation for product shared.
4, Severe restrictions on un-taxed and unlicensed sales.
5.Exclusions for sales of cannabis at a farmer market,competition and cottage industry producers..
6. Cap total amount of revenue before considered commercial enterprise. This would allow for a certain amount of sales to occur before needing to be licensed, taxes would still apply when applicable.
7. Transportation restrictions that would account for trade shows competitions and farmers markets possibly a 32 oz limit.
What do you think about this 7 step proposal? Does it make better sense to you than what we have today? How could it be better, let us know in the comments.
Veritas in Cannabis.