What Happens When A State Grows Way Too Much Weed (HBO)

When Oregon legalized recreational marijuana, the state decided to make the market as free and accessible as possible. It didn’t cap licenses, or restrict access to people living in state. It also made entry super cheapβ€”growing licenses in Oregon go for as little as $1,000, compared to tens of thousands of dollars just across the border in California.

The hope was to make it as easy as possible for everyone to get in on the new and exciting market. And it worked really well. Too well, in fact.

Fast forward just a few years, and Oregon now has a serious problem on its hands. The roughly 1,100 licensed producers growing weed right now are growing way too muchβ€”about twice what the state is actually consuming. And that’s creating all sorts of problems. Unless, of course, you’re a consumer. Then it’s awesome.

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50 Comments

  1. akadeepsea on April 15, 2019 at 9:26 pm

    Lol, oh how I love economics. Behold the simple idea of supply and demand.



  2. D R on April 15, 2019 at 9:26 pm

    Wow, Vice just figured out what supply and demand economics is. . . Pot should be cheap, its easy to grow and there are no longer the risks of imprisonment that there used to be so its called a market correction.



  3. Carson Todd on April 15, 2019 at 9:26 pm

    Good. Let all the morons who think they can make money by growing and selling weed legally fall out with the rest of them. If you are dumb enough to invest in a market that everyone knows for a fact will be over saturated, you deserve to fail and loose your investment. I had a buddy who now makes a living off marketing for dispensaries, because he was smart enough to see the demand in the marketing for the hundreds of dispensaries that would pop up in Colorado once it was legal.



  4. Dallas Wood on April 15, 2019 at 9:29 pm

    People would much rather spend a lil more money on some good quality then to get cheap ugly bud in bulk



  5. ThrillAndKillBoys on April 15, 2019 at 9:30 pm

    so whos got all the weed over there shit id like some cheap units lol



  6. David Huynh on April 15, 2019 at 9:31 pm

    weed should be free its a plant thank you Oregon



  7. Jesse Griffin on April 15, 2019 at 9:31 pm

    Most of the reason for the problems with Oregon weed is that most are growing shit weed.



  8. Free Krieg on April 15, 2019 at 9:32 pm

    This is just what happens when you let a new market open.



  9. TIO VERSE on April 15, 2019 at 9:32 pm

    "What Happens When A State Grows WaY Too Much Weed?"… πŸ€”YOU SMOKE IT! THE FUQ!



  10. BEASTLY GAMING on April 15, 2019 at 9:33 pm

    Is there really such thing as too much weed?



  11. DEExL on April 15, 2019 at 9:36 pm

    They call me to smoke it, that’s what they do.



  12. Eagle Force on April 15, 2019 at 9:36 pm

    All the best weed in Philly comes from Oregon



  13. MattIsLoling on April 15, 2019 at 9:39 pm

    SOUNDS GOOD TO ME



  14. Recreational Plutonium on April 15, 2019 at 9:41 pm

    In which VICE tells you that inexpensive weed is bad and there should be caps and licensing fees only big pharma can afford. Quality leftist journalism.



  15. Zachary Watson on April 15, 2019 at 9:42 pm

    Texas received a lot of weed from Oregon.



  16. Lohi Onki Kala on April 15, 2019 at 9:42 pm

    in jamaica one gram costs 30cents because theres so much weed πŸ˜‚



  17. Rob Grady on April 15, 2019 at 9:42 pm

    its like the Tulips all over again…..



  18. Dora The Illegal Alien on April 15, 2019 at 9:43 pm

    LETS MAKE A TRADE UNION!! wait, that’s monopoly.



  19. My Reply Notifications are OFF on April 15, 2019 at 9:44 pm

    Do they not know hot to store it long term…..its called vacuum sealing and freezing.



  20. Joco Coco on April 15, 2019 at 9:46 pm

    Hey my state



  21. Jesse Griffin on April 15, 2019 at 9:46 pm

    Over regulation is the primary problem. No other product is bared from state to state. Except weed.



  22. Nor Fen on April 15, 2019 at 9:49 pm

    I gotta get out to Oregon



  23. Sam Sung on April 15, 2019 at 9:50 pm

    this is what happens when white people get involved. yes, i said white people. sophisticated dummies. lol I ain’t racist though. Even white people know what I mean when I say "white people". lmao



  24. HC45701 on April 15, 2019 at 9:50 pm

    So what?? What does Vice want – impose artificial regulatory barriers to entry just to support price? A key advantage of legalization was supposed to be to reduce the price of pot so that it wouldn’t be profitable for criminals. Anything that plentiful and easy to produce should be cheap.



  25. Emir Memic on April 15, 2019 at 9:51 pm

    Ooh, a big boss tried to earn big money on weed? Yeah dumbo, what were you expecting, it’s a plant and everyone can grow it easily lol.



  26. Alpha Omega on April 15, 2019 at 9:51 pm

    Ship that stuff to the east coast!



  27. President Camacho on April 15, 2019 at 9:52 pm

    The price dropped 60 percent and Oregon did something wrong? Lol typical wannabe elitist mentality. You can’t just buy a farm and then demand the high prices. You have to earn it with free market and prove your product or service is worth that cost. Obviously all the guys in this vid weren’t able to do that.



  28. Graham Jonathan on April 15, 2019 at 9:53 pm

    Oregon the Walmart of weed production lmao



  29. Alisha Walker on April 15, 2019 at 9:53 pm

    Ohhh nooooo. It then becomes affordable like some Merck pills? Ohhhh noooooo. Because in Oklahoma, what’s the point in getting a card if you’re paying drug dealer prices?



  30. Paul Rice on April 15, 2019 at 9:53 pm

    I will say again that cat 🐈 piss will get you high if you sniff it.



  31. jesus espinoza on April 15, 2019 at 9:54 pm

    Omw to Oregon



  32. manicsurfing on April 15, 2019 at 9:54 pm

    Vice would like the price of marijuana to go up so people that use it for medicine would have a more difficult time affording it.
    #SHAMEONVICENEWS
    #HEARTLESSVICENEWS



  33. Eddington Millagillo on April 15, 2019 at 9:55 pm

    Then sell it out of state. Or gift it with tax deduction to hospitals. Or manage it to where u gotta monopolize and crush ur competition. Become amazon. Start giving 3 for one deals till ur enemy collapses then raise prices 15% a month



  34. Paul Rice on April 15, 2019 at 9:56 pm

    I am so glade I don’t smoke weed. I am addicted to you tube, or should I say I am a you tube junky.



  35. Chronic Verge on April 15, 2019 at 9:59 pm

    Smoke it



  36. Uzoma Olumba, GRI on April 15, 2019 at 10:01 pm

    Basic economics: there will be a consolidation in the industry. I wonder of long established tobacco companies will take over the industry.



  37. bouyant on April 15, 2019 at 10:02 pm

    P L E A S E CALL IT CANNABIS, PLEASE.



  38. Craig Hill on April 15, 2019 at 10:03 pm

    O.K. so tell me what type of what you call "Luxury Weed" that you’re now growing (look a the tail end of the video if confused) and will range in the $1,500 /lb. range is? How much better than the best shit I can already get at my local medical dispensary with THC content reaching 30% on some strains and I’m talking flower, not dabbing shit. Next time I’m online I want to hear the exact luxury name strains that you are growing that sets you apart from the low brows…as well as I wonder if I’m already smoking (actually vaping) the stuff you’re now growing. Everybody seems to have top shelf in their dispensaries as it is…can’t get over what the hell strains this guy has come up with to outsell his competition????



  39. SirSmokeAlot OfKush on April 15, 2019 at 10:04 pm

    I think they’re confusing the black market prices with retail…



  40. Will Davis on April 15, 2019 at 10:04 pm

    Here’s how hard it is to get it out of state: put it in your vehicle and drive across.



  41. dean doss on April 15, 2019 at 10:11 pm

    No such fucking thing!!! Never can be too much buds man jus never πŸ€£πŸ’¨πŸ€£



  42. GTO on April 15, 2019 at 10:12 pm

    What happens……it causes problems. Great article. Why not ship it to Ontario we dont have any.



  43. unclepoopoof25 on April 15, 2019 at 10:13 pm

    send the excess my way wont be wasting any then lmao



  44. mcjon77 on April 15, 2019 at 10:14 pm

    This is how it should be everywhere in the US. Make it as cheap and easy as possible for anyone to get into the industry. Yeah, a bunch of people are going to not make it, but that is business. How many restaurants have you seen open up, then close a year later? The weed industry shouldn’t be a protected class.



  45. Jonathan Y Wu on April 15, 2019 at 10:14 pm

    0:58

    lmao it’s almost at $420



  46. Mike Ivy on April 15, 2019 at 10:14 pm

    They send it to me! It should be universal freedom for access…we are retiring to a pot-legal state and enjoying the fruits of others labor…so sad to c this man loose everything…



  47. Paul Rice on April 15, 2019 at 10:15 pm

    No, you smuggle your supplies across the boarder to your buddy states. You can sell it at three times the price.



  48. Mark Mexcur on April 15, 2019 at 10:18 pm

    So if you can go to Oregon and buy a pound of good weed what keeps people from buying it there and driving to Virginia and reselling it for 3x that amount…it’s like having Mexico in your backyard…



  49. Bluegill Phil on April 15, 2019 at 10:20 pm

    so much weed everywhere, so why are some bay area clubs selling $74 1/8ths of flower & $90 grams of bubble hash ?



  50. jztswole on April 15, 2019 at 10:22 pm

    best bet now is probably quality over quantity if small businesses want to sustain. get some good terpene profiles -> make some (good) destillate vape-pens/ grow some organic no-till flower if you’re experienced and recreate the industry. Now weed is not just about getting high, but about every part of the plant you can imagine, find that niche and master it. No-till/terpenes/super high thc values/cbd flower/extraction-methods/topicals you name it. the paradigm has changed quite a bit and that’s just a industry which has not fully developed its branches yet.