'You don't have to like Brussels sprouts to grow Brussels sprouts'
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EVERETT, Wash. -- Farmer Bruce King makes his money selling pigs, but he's thinking about diversifying his business by adding marijuana now that it is legal in Washington.
"With pot you have a crop which will make on an acre what might take you 500 acres and a half million to make with a conventional farm," he said.
King maintains a blog aimed at his fellow farmers, and he said three dozen of his readers have shown interest in opening their own marijuana farms.
The idea of adding large amounts of pot to the area isn't sitting well with all of King's neighbors. Farmer Cora Cunningham said she's going to stick with cows and doesn't like the idea of farmers using prime agriculture real estate to grow marijuana.
"When they don't have beef or food or fruit to eat, what are they going to do, just smoke pot?" she said.
Even if King starts a pot farm, he said he would have no interest in sampling his own crops.
"I've actually never tried it and have no interest in it," he said. "You don't have to like Brussels sprouts to grow Brussels sprouts."
King is far from the first farmer to see there's money to be had in marijuana. The Liquor Control Board, which will regulate marijuana farms, has received daily calls from people interested in growing, processing or selling pot. Thousands more have signed up for email updates, according to the board.
Under federal law, it's still illegal to grow pot. However, the Liquor Control Board is busy developing a list of rules and officials say the Department of Justice will soon issue a policy to let the state know what it should expect.
"I think there's going to be 10,000 licenses before we're done," King said.
Kind isn't waiting. He plans to buy his $250 license and a greenhouse so he can start bringing home the bacon in more ways than one. He estimates he could make $40,000 more per acre by growing pot than from his pigs, though he plans on doing both.
"With pot you have a crop which will make on an acre what might take you 500 acres and a half million to make with a conventional farm," he said.
King maintains a blog aimed at his fellow farmers, and he said three dozen of his readers have shown interest in opening their own marijuana farms.
The idea of adding large amounts of pot to the area isn't sitting well with all of King's neighbors. Farmer Cora Cunningham said she's going to stick with cows and doesn't like the idea of farmers using prime agriculture real estate to grow marijuana.
"When they don't have beef or food or fruit to eat, what are they going to do, just smoke pot?" she said.
Even if King starts a pot farm, he said he would have no interest in sampling his own crops.
"I've actually never tried it and have no interest in it," he said. "You don't have to like Brussels sprouts to grow Brussels sprouts."
King is far from the first farmer to see there's money to be had in marijuana. The Liquor Control Board, which will regulate marijuana farms, has received daily calls from people interested in growing, processing or selling pot. Thousands more have signed up for email updates, according to the board.
Under federal law, it's still illegal to grow pot. However, the Liquor Control Board is busy developing a list of rules and officials say the Department of Justice will soon issue a policy to let the state know what it should expect.
"I think there's going to be 10,000 licenses before we're done," King said.
Kind isn't waiting. He plans to buy his $250 license and a greenhouse so he can start bringing home the bacon in more ways than one. He estimates he could make $40,000 more per acre by growing pot than from his pigs, though he plans on doing both.
Washington should also make those license fees a bit higher if they want some more money in their coffers. See the greed coming??
No problem, Mr. King. I'm sure there is a Mexican drug cartel very anxious to manage your farm for you too.
Well they need to come up with a new crime unit now for farm invasions instead of just home invasions. These people are idiots if they think gang members from other areas won't drive to steal legal weed to sell in their own areas. Its seriously like setting a flock of sheep in a wolves den...and telling them its ok to go to sleep.
What the hell? I thought this was going to be a story about Brussels Sprouts!
 @JTesla Good quote by the farmer. Got us all hooked into the story.Â
Washington = pot farms.
Afghanistan = opium poppy farms.
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We need to get a clue about where this will lead us and the organized crime that will result. If people want to smoke pot let them grow their own. If they can't figure out how to do it, too bad, they obviously can't afford to be killing any more brain cells. Large scale pot production should remain criminal.
I wonder if Mr. King has thought about how many guards he is going to have to hire to protect his furture mary jane crops?
Its not like normal food crops where one person can only really steal / carry a few bucks worth of veggies. One person could quickly steal a large dollar amount of weed off someones farm.
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It will interesting to see how this pans out for the farmers.
These wannabe pot farmers are opening themselves up for all kinds of trouble. The Feds, gangs, thieves. I'll bet no one has factored in the cost of the security measures it's going to take to protect their crops.