Cannabis production as an industry, started to bloom in the mid 80’s. This was the time of outlaw grows, both in the basement and famous regions like the California mountains, Ottawa Valley and areas of British Columbia.
With the success of limited medical cannabis programs (thank you Israel and Britain) and with some recreational success (yay Holland) the political pressure in North America spawned medical programs that were initiated in individual American states and federally, in Canada.
It started with “Compassion Clubs” where individuals with serious chronic illnesses were able to obtain cannabis to be used therapeutically. Law enforcement eventually tended to avoid dealing with them once judges made it plain that they were unwilling to incarcerate people that were sick and or dying when all they sought was an effective avenue to relieve their suffering.
Sadly, with the onset of the AIDS epidemic a rapid increase was seen in the number of patients using cannabis. This created a growing amount of anecdotal evidence demonstrating the benefits of cannabis when used as a medicine. With rising demand, a degree of understanding from the police and a body of testimonials from both patients and medical professionals, lawmakers saw fit to make allowances for Cannabis production on a controlled basis.
In Canada and the US the controls were similar. Limits based on consumption and thus quantities of plants to produce were established based on the best estimates of production available at the time. Many of the growers who enrolled in these programs found that they were able to produce far more cannabis per plant then the estimates had initially predicted.
Even with growers donating much of their excess supply, enough began to accumulate that a grey-market for medical and recreational use, emerged and grew. Dispensaries, it was argued, were a more convenient mechanism for distribution than clubs and online mechanisms for payment and sales formed the foundation of this new marketplace. Furthermore, the complex nature of how cannabis affects a particular individual means that cannabis therapy resembles something more like the interactions you have with a dietician rather than a surgeon, in other words it requires a holistic approach rather than traditional treatments for acute conditions.
In many ways, the early programs became opportunities for data collection that would set the groundwork for amendments. With updates being made to the policies, loopholes began to get covered although in some regions (often due to legal pressure), early growers were “grandfathered” and allowed to operate under the older systems. Now licensing usually incorporates quantity restrictions on product weight and or canopy area with commensurate increases in licensing fees and taxes.
The grey-market is very much alive today and constitutes the supply for the bulk of retail consumption, at least in Canada and the US. Given time and pressure the legislated (legalization is not necessarily decriminalization) programs will inevitably impact and possibly eradicate the others but for now it is a two tier system and the consumers are choosing with their wallets. When quality, availability, selection and price align, one market will win out.