Behind The Curtain 33: Selling Humboldt By The Pound – October 23, 2010
Sharon Letts
Eye Correspondent
“Hello,” Jake answered the phone.
“Hey, Jake, can I come by?” Greg asked without asking why. It was understood what he wanted. He wouldn’t have visited Jake otherwise, unless it was to house sit, then Jake would have called him. That’s how it worked. Jake would call and say, “Hey, Jake, can you come up and talk?” And Greg would go to his house for instructions.
At times Greg thought it was funny how much the young growers wouldn’t discuss anything. Like, they were under a microscope or something.
Hell, it was said every third house in some towns were grow houses. Dime a dozen, he thought. Why would anyone care?
The story in the Times-Standard reported neighbors suing grow neighbors – or the landlords. The guy tried to say he knew nothing, but the growers said it was move-in friendly for growing, with the room already set up. The tenant said there was bud to be harvested upon move-in.
Greg laughed at the vision of that Craig’slist ad, if it could have been printed, “Two bedroom one bath, one grow room with bud, in nice, quiet neighborhood.”
But, he knew it was real. He house sat for growers where the landlord set it all up. Live-in maintenance workers, that’s what they were – with a cut in the poundage, or a discount in rent.
He wondered what kind of neighbors they were. All the indoor growers he knew were quiet and minded their own business – many had kids and full-time jobs.
He could understand if someone had kids playing in the yard, with punk gangsters coming and going. It was a different world. There were so many different kinds of people and just one reason for growing, money.
Thinking of money, Greg grabbed his wallet, pulled out a few fifty dollar bills and counted out $250. Jake’s ounces typically went for $375, but he gave him a deal.
He figured it was because he worked for him, but he also knew the price of the pound was dropping fast.
Since he had begun working in indoor grows he now knew what it took. All those organic fertilizers were expensive, and the energy consumed was said to be 60 percent more than the average household.
Someone told him they were spending around $1,000 per pound to grow indoor. But, it was stronger with all those fancy fertilizers – more flavorful.
Outdoor prices were dropping as well. A friend of his in So Hum said he was getting $1,600 a pound now, a far cry from $3,000 per last year.
It made you think though. Our farmers were getting dollars or less per pound on food, even $1,000 a pound might be good revenue for those who want to stay on the land in this beautiful place.
“Fifty, one hundred, two hundred, two hundred and fifty,” Greg said aloud, counting his cannabis cash, “Time to pay Jake a visit.”
