Seeking Advice

[jester]

i went about this all back a**wards. signed with caregiver, submitted paperwork, $10 check,etc. being a first timer i had no idea what questions to ask. didn't discuss price, types of product, availability.

all i know is its in the ground.

what questions do i need to ask before comitting further?

all replies appreciated.

thanks in advance.

[Mememe]

If they use any pesticides and if so, which ones? Is it organic? Do they cure it or just dry it out enough to use?

[+JuztBudz]

Jester, yes, you did make a mistake when you got started. One that MANY have made before you, and many are yet to make. So, how to correct the mistake?

 

1. Have a sit down with your caregiver, ask lots of questions.

 

Find out pricing, some caregivers give that "free" ounce a month, when they have product. Others will charge a small fee for the first ounce, ranging from $100 - $200, others want a reasonable fee for each ounce (reasonable to me is $240-280). Still others have not left that "drug dealer" mentality behind and found true compassion for their clients, so they charge exhorbitant prices like $300-400 for each and every ounce. If your caregiver is in that range, run like hell to find a new one, cuz those are rip off prices. I've grown for a bit longer than was legal and have done intense pricing and cost breakdowns on my own grows, so I know what a fair price is for this particular product.

 

Ask them about their experience in growing cannabis, you'll find every type here from the novice to the ultra-experienced and all points in between. While there are many with experience, many, many more are novices and still have a heck of a lot to learn. As I said, I do have some experience with this, I studied the plant for a couple of years before I ever put my first seed in dirt, and even with my experience, I learn something new about the cannabis plant, or a particular strain regularly, thank you ganja godz! Ask about their methods of growing, if they sound grounded in common sense then you are a lucky patient. If they are relatively new to growing, I hope that they have decided, for your sake, to grow in dirt or some mixture of dirt and promix. They will encounter fewer problems, and have a buffer of time to come back from rookie mistakes. In my humble opinion, hydro is truely to demanding and does not give sometimes, even one day to realize and correct those mistakes.

 

I would also ask about one of the most important jobs of a grower, finishing their product. Do they do a 2 week flush of the product, prior to taking them down? This removes any chemicals from the plant, leaving you with a tastier, easier to use product. If what you recieve from them has a black ash when burned, won't stay lit, then they aren't flushing enough. A properly flushed product will leave a nice grey ash and will always stay lit. Now ask about the drying and curing process...the longer it takes to dry the product, the better it will be for you the user. Slow drying removes a lot of the chlorophyll from the product and doesn't leave it so harsh on the lungs. And the cure is the most important aspect that can be covered...Those buds need to be allowed to breathe while in the jars, when first put in they need to be burped at least 4 times a day for 15 minutes, as time goes on, you'll burp them less and less until you reach the ultimate moisture level and leave the jars alone for a week at a time. If they are being stored for long periods, they need to be opened occasionally to allow an exchange of air and also to check on molding.

 

Ask your caregiver if they know who the following people are...Jorge Cervantes, Mel Frank or Soma (three renowned grow book authors). If they don't suggest that they grab a "grow bible", they will find answers to many, many questions there. Jorge is my favorite, Mel has done this forever and Soma, while relatively new to the field, has a soil method that knocked my socks off!

 

Last, but certainly not least, ask if your caregiver will do additional things with your cannabis...Will he make hash from the trash, will he turn some of it into a Simpson styled oil product? Can he make canna-oils and or butters? Is he willing to do tinctures and the like? These are all things that an adequate grower should at least be able to do, and if not, are they willing to learn how?

 

I wish that these were all of the questions that should be asked, but I'm sure I've missed something important, here or there, soooo...I'm sure that some other kind soul will supplement this with more, or better suggestions...best of luck travelling this road we call medical cannabis, be kind to your caregiver and I'm sure that he will reciprocate. Explain to him that you aren't trying to be an donkey here, but these are important questions that you should have asked before you signed him on. If he gets upset, it may be time to look for someone more amenable to some simple questions to become your caregiver.

 

Hope this helps....Peace...j.b.

 

p.s. see what I mean? meme has already covered something that I missed completely, what a community we have here...Peace

[Guest finallyfree09]

hey jb, you know.... what you just posted is very helpful to me as well as jester. i will be a licensed caregiver soon. a friend of mine has just gotten her license and wants to help me out by making me her cg. she understands that i don't have my garden going yet and is doing this purely as a favor to me to get me licensed. however, this does not mean that i am going to start taking on more patients immediately.

 

i will be charging my friend nothing as having her on board allows me to have the ability to keep a couple of mothers and gives me the time to work out a system that will work for me. its going to take a while for me to feel comfortable enough with my skills before i sign on anybody else because i don't want to leave anybody hangin. one needs to look no farther than our friend jester's post to see how important it is to know the ropes and know them well BEFORE taking another persons well-being into your hands.

 

you should SERIOUSLY consider writing a HOW-TO guide for aspiring cg's. i don't even know where to begin when it comes to handling the job. you always seem to have something quite knowledgable to say at just the right time.

 

having a guide for aspiring cg's to follow would be great. do you have an actual formula or template that could be used to estimate how much it costs/oz to grow med quality cannabis? if you do... reserve a whole frickin chapter for it! lol... i've got a feeling that the whole "price of mmj" thing is going to be drug into court sooner or later so it would be nice to have something in black and white that can be handed to a judge rather than trying to just explain "how i do it." ya know what i mean?

 

one thing is for sure.... i would LOVE to have a book that could tell me what it takes to be a cg in michigan. all the ups and downs. things i should know, things i should avoid. this list could get REALLY big. give it some thought man... somebody on our side needs to give us all a little direction. why not you?