No on Prop 19

At the age of 17, I became the largest pot dealer in a Bay Area suburb of 50,000 people.  Over the next ten years, I made millions of dollars as a black collar professional.   Some  of you will cast me as a villain,  a one dimensional Hollywood caricature making money while destroying young people’s lives; but the reality is I am an entrepreneur who just found a niche meeting America’s insatiable demand for marijuana. And even when I started at 15,  85% of my clientele were adults, not young people.

How did I do it?

I provided a high quality product at a reasonable price with  fantastic customer service.   Like many other black collar professionals,  I used the Internet (especially Craigslist) to find new customers.  I built an organization with a network of good people and trained them to be reliable: never flake on an appointment,  stay open until late at night, and provide home delivery.   I am no different than the guys who started Dominos, Papa Johns or even high flying tech companies like Broadcom.  The only difference is that what I sell is technically illegal.  And I want it to stay that way…

The proponents of Prop 19 paint it as some great leap forward for freedom. According to these “forward thinkers” Prop 19 will:

1. allow for more control over the use of marijuana;
2. decrease government expenditures on the ineffective “War on Drugs;”
3. reduce imprisonment of minorities and poor people, who are typically the only ones incarcerated for marijuana possession;
4. increase state and city tax revenues.

But I don’t buy any of that.  What Prop 19 is really about is the increasing “corporatization” of this country and our culture.  If anything, it’s a giant step backwards for freedom.

Let’s look at the facts:

1. According to Jon Gettman of DrugScience.org, Marijuana is a $35B cash crop, making it the most valuable crop in the U.S.
2. As everyone knows state tax revenues have been on the decline for years
3. When corporations’ core business is on the decline they use the cash these businesses generate to fund new high-growth opportunities

Prop 19 does the same thing to hard-working pot dealers that Home Depot or WalMart moving into town does for other mom & pop businesses.  It will replace high paying jobs held by passionate employees with sub-standard wages and cheap, low quality imports.  I currently support ten employees making a good living.  On average each of them has been working with me for six years.  They all work hard and make much more than they could ever make working in some dead end retail job.  We believe in giving back to our community.  Over the years we have been a regular sponsor of young entrepreneurs.  Via mentoring and investment we have created franchises in neighboring cities and helped dozens of small businesses get off the ground..

I am not afraid of competition.  I think any true entrepreneur sees it as a chance to improve their game.  But I am afraid Prop 19 is going to put me out of business and force me to change my career to something morally bankrupt, such as affiliate marketing.

for more information on how to stop the insanity.

Tweet