Let’s go ahead and assume California legalizes marijuana and Congress is ok with it.

The point of my ramblings: How long will it take to stand up the supply chain for legal marijuana?

Most people have seen a Hollywood production depicting the underground world of marijuana. Either in movies or TV (like the Showtime series “Weeds”), cannabis is typically shown as being grown in random fields or a grow house, separated and bagged in some back room or warehouse, and then distributed through a few levels of dealers to Joe Drug User.

Pretty easy supply chain right? Assuming you take out the threat of law enforcement and rival crime syndicates, there are only a few nodes to go from raw materials to finished product, “factory to foxhole”, or whatever supply chain analogy you prefer.

When Maui wowie becomes legal, you don’t have to worry about law enforcement or rival crime syndicates (at least trying to kill you). Things get simpler, right?

Probably not.

Take out death and jail, introduce government regulation. Death and jail better than government regulation?

I won’t get too detailed, but rather ask a few supply chain related questions:

• Will there be a registration process to tell the government you grow reefer?
• How would a grower source new raw materials (e.g. seeds, plants)? Buy from other growers? Call Mexico?
• Will the distribution network now require infrastructure (e.g. warehouses) and transportation (e.g. trailers)?
• Who will sell the Panama red? Government shops (like government controlled liquor stores)?
• How much technology will be involved? New point of sale systems? Tagging and tracking within the distribution network? New UPC’s?
• How about product quality standards? Organic (all weed may be organic)? Labeling product by the parts of the plants used?

This won’t be a strictly cash, under the table business anymore.

Although dope delaers may be happy they won’t be killed doing business, this won’t be an overnight success story. There are many factors other than what I mentioned above that the government of California will run into during its efforts to collect tax revenues on their cash crop.

Not to mention whether or not people will pay a premium for Acapulco gold when it isn’t illegal. Is it really the largest agricultural product in California when the prices aren’t inflated by the black market?

What about suppliers who move other illegal products in addition to ganja? Will they outsource their product to continue dealing in illegal substances? I doubt the government will overlook their cocaine trade just because they produce grass.

I don’t know if the legalization will actually happen, but I’d love to be a “Weed Consultant” in California to help hash out (pun intended) the process of taking this industry above board….