Posts Tagged ‘medical marijuana’

Forget Traditional Fundraising. Let’s Grow Weed!

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

Everyone had a theory about what would happen when California legalized marijuana for medical use, but growing it to fund an art foundation probably wasn’t on the list.

  • Using a small plot of land in Sonoma County, Kirsha Kaechele is experimenting with a way to fund arts programs in perpetuity by legally growing marijuana.
  • Some growers are already donating some of their profit to charities and creative causes, but Life is Art is hoping to use the marijuana farm as a consistent source of funding for a lifetime of homegrown art projects.
  • In November, California voters will consider a proposal to make marijuana legal for recreational purposes. Marijuana supporters who oppose the measure worry that expanding use will allow corporations to step in, put small growers out of business, and eliminate the potential for charitable growing.

Facts & Figures

  • Selling marijuana is still technically a crime under federal law.
  • An ounce of medical-grade marijuana sells for about $200 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
  • Art is Life plans to generate $1 million next year to pay for art projects based on the farm and in New Orleans.

Best Quote

“The whole game of finding support just started to seem so childish. So I decided to grow up and became a marijuana farmer.” – Kirsha Kaechele, Director of Art is Life Foundation

Making A Legal Profit With Marijuana

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Colorado’s medical marijuana industry is hampered by a slew of rules and restrictions as lawmakers attempt to establish standards of respectability within this promising new market.

  • Amendment 1284, a new set of regulations for the marijuana industry, is expected to put many dispensaries out of business. But some dispensaries are welcoming the regulations since the more regulated (and respectable) their business appears to be, the easier it will be for them to operate.
  • In order to succeed as a dispensary of medical marijuana, entrepreneurs must grow their own weed (which vastly increases profits), and secure “caregiver rights” (the more customers who give your establishment caregiver rights, the more marijuana you can grow).
  • Thus far, the industry has failed to generate anywhere near the amount of revenue predicted by the lawmakers who supported the drug’s legalization. In fact, the people making the most money from the business are not dispensaries, but the medical professionals who issue medical marijuana certificates.

Facts & Figures

  • To date, 80,000 people in Colorado have medical marijuana certificates, and the number of certificate holders is increasing by about 1,000 people per month.
  • Americans spend approximately $25 billion per year on marijuana. The sales in Colorado so far are expected to generate about $2.7 million in license fees (not including the $681,000 in income taxes collected from July 2009 to February 2010). By contrast, Dr. Boland, a certificate-issuer interviewed by the newspaper, has grossed $1 million over the past year.
  • 13 states and the District of Columbia currently have medical marijuana laws.

Best Quote

“We’re past the days when people call here to ask if marijuana will give men breasts. Now, the calls are from angel investors, or REITs – people who are looking for ways to invest or offer their services.” – Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)