The Self Employed Stoner – The “sleazy” side of cannabis

This is the third installment of The Self Employed Stoner, in which we take a closer look at money-making opportunities for the world’s cannabis-friendly populace. This particular opportunity for self-employment has become a viable option for those who can legally grow cannabis at home.

Of course, this isn’t anything “new”, but I think those who want to work in the cannabis industry can use the latest DEA statement. The “DEA says marijuana seeds are considered legal hemp as long as they don’t exceed the THC limit,” as reported in Marijuana Moment.

“Accordingly, marijuana seeds that have a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis meet the definition of ‘hemp’ and are therefore not controlled under the CSA,” Terrence L. Boos, chief of DEA ‘s Drug & Chemical Evaluation Section wrote in the Jan. 6 letter. “Conversely, marijuana seeds with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration greater than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis are controlled as marijuana on Schedule I under the CSA.”

In essence, this means that the DEA has acknowledged that any cannabis seed is essentially “hemp” and can technically be sold to other states and people. The important loophole to remember is to put a card in the seed stash that says “not for planting” as it is still illegal to use cannabis seeds with the intention of growing them (Federal ).

Yes, the rules are idiotic… I’m not making them up.

“In my view, the letter is significant because we continue to see confusion over the source rule – the argument that the legal status of a cannabis product depends on whether it is ‘derived’ from marijuana or hemp – even affecting proposed legislation at the federal level” , Shane Pennington, the attorney inquiring about the legal status of seeds, told Marijuana Moment.

Basically, there is now a clear distinction and seeds only have to comply with the 0.3% THC to be considered hemp. In addition, the letter from the DEA states;

“…other material derived or extracted from the cannabis plant, such as tissue culture and any other genetic material that has a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, meets the definition of “hemp” and is therefore not controlled under the CSA.”

In other words, you can make products from the cannabis plant yourself and sell them too. This could be a potential “sideline” for large growers. Instead of just throwing away the cannabis plants, you could dry and pulp the plants, make rope, or use the roots for a variety of “hemp” products.

All you have to do is ensure that no residue from the cannabis plants ends up on the hemp products. However, most people won’t do a THC test on rope or twine… but it could become an additional source of income.

Still, if someone can figure out how to maximize and recycle the waste produced by large scale commercial cannabis grows, there is some serious money to be made.

In today’s Self Employed Stoner, however, we’re not looking at upcycling cannabis waste, we’re taking a closer look at how you can start your own seed selling business with a few plants and a moderate setup.

Hell, you could even work with a few independent breeders to create a robust profile of available seeds…

However, before I proceed, I think it’s important to note that doing business isn’t easy, and you won’t “make money” as easily as you think. To start a seed bank, you need to learn how to master the art of growing cannabis, how to breed, how to make feminized seeds and finally – how to “beat” the competition.

However, if you have a deep-seated passion for working in the cannabis industry, this is an opportunity to forge your own path. You don’t need a large facility to produce lots of seeds, you just need to know how to properly isolate your plants, maximize genetic traits, and play god with your breeds.

Time window

It will take around 3-5 months to get your first batch of seeds and depending on how well you have grown the plant this can be a lot of seeds. For example, if you bloom your plants and increase the opportunity for more seeds, you’re maximizing the yield per light source.

Nonetheless, the plant must go through its natural cycles, but unlike growing for consumption – growing for seed has different goals.

Technology

If you’re growing for consumption, you’ll want to increase volume, cannabinoid diversity, and trichome density as some of your more important metrics. However, if you are growing to sell seeds, you will be trying to get the highest possible yield of seeds per plant. The shabbier the better.

Not all seeds are created equal, so there will be some seeds that are simply not suitable for sale. For this reason, the volume is crucial. Fortunately, this isn’t too difficult.

First, you need to have pollen of your desired variety and distribute it evenly throughout a flowering plant at various stages of the flowering cycle. There just isn’t enough space in this article to jump into this master class, but there are plenty of tutorials available online…

ROI

While there isn’t much data on seed sales and return on investment, we can do some basic calculations on gross profit, which would then need to be subtracted from operating expenses.

For now, taking Canada’s weed market as a reference point, the numbers may differ in different parts of the US you are in.

Here is an excerpt from an article in Global News

The OCS sells a four-pack for $60 and the BCCS for $55.99, which works out to about $14-15 per seed.

The price per seed is quite competitive with Canadian gray market sites where feminized (guaranteed female) seeds are closer to $18 and can go as high as $30. (The gray market selection tends to be much better, though, at least so far.)

They had a stock of 500 packs of 4 seeds that sold out in a week. This shows you that there is definitely interest in the market for quality seeds.

But what is the average seed yield per cannabis plant?

Although it’s hard to tell, and depending on the amount of pollen used, the density of the buds and the inclination of the plant, you can expect from as few as 50 to over a thousand seeds per plant.

If you are producing seeds for sale, you will naturally try to maximize your seed production. However, as a conservative estimate, let’s assume you only manage to produce 250 seeds per plant. That would make about 62 packs of 4 that retail for around CAD$60 or $48 retailing for a potential value of $3,000 per plant if you manage to sell it all.

Even if you can only grow up to six plants, we’re talking $18,000 worth of seeds each grow cycle. Depending on your costs, we could say that between $8,000 and $10,000 could be deducted, giving you a profit margin of between $8,000 and $10,000.

Not bad for a home operation. The beauty of this canna business is that your operating costs don’t go up as you increase seed yield – meaning you have more potential for a high ROI.

bottom line

As mentioned, this won’t be easy – but hopefully if you’re asked to put cannabis strains together… this article has inspired you to take the plunge and become a “self-employed stoner”.

MORE INDEPENDENT STONERS, READ THIS…

THE INDEPENDENT SUITCASE – HOW TO BECOME AN AT-HOME ANIGAMER!

OR..

THE SELF-EMPLOYED STONER – DIGITAL WEALTH BUILDING AT HOME!