Bitcoin Forum

Marijuana has a long and sorted relationship with the American legal system. At the turn of the 20th century, cannabis was one of the nation’s top elixirs and cure-alls, but over the last couple of generations, laws and regulations have made it a legal nightmare. It is treated as harshly as heroine and accounts for a large chunk of America’s 2.5 million citizens in prison.

On Tuesday, in addition to Donald Trump’s upset victory, Marijuana was legalized for use in seven out of eight states there was a voting referendum (Arizona defeated it.) This is a good start, but that is only half the battle. Can Bitcoin help with what comes next?

The voters as a part of the reform laws for Marijuana especially under the clause of recreational cannabis means a good business for those who accept to allow people purchase medical marijuana for Bitcoins. I was pleased to hear that the state committee members of North Dakota had decided to vote for it considering its treatment for cancer and epilepsy. With California Proposition 64 in place, I think several legal vendors selling cannabis would increase sales, at the same time accepting Bitcoins as a payment would instill growth in some way. I'm sure a lot of illegal drugs are sold in the dark net with the use of Bitcoins, but if a legal reason exists for those who are sufferers of such diseases, can purchase it legally from pot sellers with their ID and Bitcoins.

Yes that's a news that really wasn't surprising, we all had been anticipating this move. Yes I feel Bitcoin will play a major role in buying and selling, as even the outside states that haven't regularised, will sell and and accept payment in Bitcoins. This will increase the regocnization, so thumps up to it.

Now that it is legal, bitcoin has no more role to play than it has in the sale of any other goods.
It might remove the middleman and save transaction costs, but nothing further.

Bitcoin will do nothing to benefit more states getting marijuana, what has to happen is the states have to decide based off of referendums and they will dictate whether or not it is going to be permitted.

The issue with Bitcoin is that it can't really do anything. Government regulations will dictate what happens within each of the states, and because of this, Bitcoin might not be a permitted payment form.

But what about other country law, will it also get affect as in other country marijuana is not legal and still it is offence to do any sort of business in that

Making something legal means it is now under more scrutiny and therefore not going to be connected to bitcoin until bitcoin is recognized as a currency by the American government. The interesting aspect now is how the banks play ball with companies they have been causing to jump through endless hoops.

There are countries where marijuana is illegal and i think BTC can help play a role for buyers of weed in those countries .

The  average cost of housing an inmate in the U.S. was $31,286 in 2012. So it has it's benefits, but Marijuana is also seen as the first step to

harder drugs, which is not good. The legalization of the drug, will influence Bitcoin in a good way, because people will now sell it legally

through regulated merchants and customers will want to do it anonymously and bitcoin will over them the opportunity to do that. Why

anonymously? ....because it will still have a negative stigma for a while.  ::)

Marijuana is not going to receive any benefit from Bitcoin, and the states are going to have to legislate it on their own. Bitcoin will likely not be accepted for marijuana purchases, and if they do accept Bitcoin, all it does is bring up the revenue of the industry. Nothing much bigger.

It cost 114K per prisoner here in Canada! :o Seems like Canada should ship our prisoners to the States and we could all profit.

Do not be so quick to jump on a registry or any lists stating you smoke or use pot either. Governments are known to change their minds and then they have a nice little list of people that they can go after. I tend to look at my library card that way as well,so take me lightly.

Bitcoin really only helps the sale of black market marijuana. People can still go to jail in states that are illegal whether the marijuana was purchased with fiat or bitcoin.

Indeed. Basically the point of Bitcoin was to purchase it 'pseudo-anonymously', or at least without saying to the cops to come directly.

But yes, now it has no other point anymore except being another currency. It now depends on the people accepting them.

It doesn't matter how you purchase marijuana if it's illegal in your country. Bitcoin or fiat doesn't actualy make the difference, police will get on you.
But people are buying marijuana on dark markets with Bitcoins hoping they will preserve their anonimity. Sometimes that works, sometines don't because it's geting easier to reveal the identity.

Yeah if people are buying seeds or grow supplies online they may use a payment like Bitcoin,
but the transaction time is too long for in-store purchases.
People will just use cash/ credit card to buy cannabis in dispensaries.

Bitcoins, unfortunately, is used to buy illegal products (like darknetmarkets) and those who can buy it legally wouldn't choose bitcoins as a payment mode as they can buy it legally in dollars. I heard about marijuana being a beneficial medical drug but it's been misused too which again makes it legality a big question so I'm not sure why it's made legal.

I do not think so, if marijuana still illegal probably drug dealer will use bitcoin for the payment because bitcoin mostly used for illegal activity.

Since now it is legal in states like California to buy marijuana legally I don t see what use could bitcoin have, unless you don't want to reveal your identity to your seller or you want to hide ti form anyone else.

Any proof or I was not updating the latest news about the marijuana in America. But I don't realize if the government or some official institution are speaking about some statement related to the legalization of marijuana in there. and bitcoin has no role for playing in there.

Urgh. What the. Just because it's ok in the US, doesn't mean it's acceptable/legal everywhere else.   

If it's illegal in a certain country, then don't buy it. Even with btc. That's just asking to get caught. tsk.
For marijuana, since it's already beginning to be legal in the U.S. (@OP where's the link) , other countries might follow.

I don't think BTC is gonna help with this especially in the beginning since I'm pretty sure there'd be all sorts of identification/medical documents required for buying.

(I admit I haven't heard of these "legalization of marijuana" yet, or seen any news but is this legal for medical use only? or even for recreational?)

It could be good to trade only inside US, like in netherlands, uruguay, etc. It will be great to trade marijuana globally and use Bitcoin as the trade money. Bitcoin is cool to don't pay tax to government, if legal marijuana would be traded like in many NL places it will be very helpful to the market. Hope many countries legalize it too.

though i personally dont like drugs it has to be said

although a state may allow drugs to be sold by retailers legally[in certain states]. the bank is not state owned. most banks would still trat weed as illegal because their regulation is based on another state/nation/international law.

it has already been shown that weed retailers have had trouble getting access to a bank account due to the banks national/international AML/KYC policies.
http://uk.businessinsider.com/americas-marijuana-companies-cant-put-money-in-banks-2015-11

so bitcoin will actually benefit these weed retailers as a method to store value securely instead of hiding it under the mattress.

If marijuana has become legal bitcoins wont be used for that purpose, im not saying bitcoin is used just for dark marketplaces, but several people does use bitcoin to purchase all kind of ilegal stuffs, i do believe now others countrie may follow such behavior, and who knows someday they legalize almost all the drugs ending the black market of it.

bitcoins involvement in illegal usage/blackmarkets is less than 1%
in short. theres only a few blackmarkets but there are OVER 300,000 legitimate businesses

bitcoin moved away from the blackmarket dominance around 2012 and has gained more popularity for legitimate reasons.
EG banking the unbankable. international remittance. offering average people a sort of offshore trustfund without paperwork/consultation fees

bitcoin is not reliant on blackmarkets. just like the dollar is not reliant on detroit suburbs(fiat drug havens) or red light districts

Legalization of Marijuana could also be bad for Bitcoin because that is one less product that can be bought with BTC online at the darketnet market places. People will start buying it thru regular means once legalization starts.

You all have to remember that too much regulation also subsidizes Bitcoin because it is what the people turn to to make payments at market places which no payment processor or bank are willing to deal with.

what if i told you that yes one black-market wont sell weed for bitcoin..
but due to the banking issues of federal regulations..
http://uk.businessinsider.com/americas-marijuana-companies-cant-put-money-in-banks-2015-11

THOUSANDS of white-markets will sell weed legally and allow it to be paid for using bitcoin LEGALLY

it is so unfortunate for the Bitcoin to be used for illegal activities. such as buying and selling in the blackmarket. but if the legalization of Marijuana in the US be impose,then this may bring some other side effects for the country. since if transactions are done through bitcoin, you no longer knew who you are transacting with. since theres no need to have personal information in sending or receiving money. what if the person you are transacting wont use Marijuana in a proper way. so how will the police trace that person right.

What is you talking about?   There still is going to be a silk road for all them other drugs and there's still sex and gambling.  Put that all together in mama's cooking pot with hash brownies, and you got yoself a fine American stew.  God bless the weed.

I think the people use more bitcoin to buy seeds when marijuana was prohibited.

Now you can just buy with fiat currency in this states, don't know where the bitcoin can enter here.

if Marijuanna were legal then you could buy it with fiat and legally with no problem, there would be absolutely no need for any use of bitcoin ar any of the cryptocurrencies for that

It certainly helped Ross Ulbrich sell weed.

I hate drugs, but I am also aware of stupidity of current anti narcotics laws. Drugs black market is basically created by government.
Police is spending millions every year to stop drug gangs - with legalization of drugs war would be over. But people are too blind to see this.

About bitcoin and marijuana - I don't think how these two are linked and I would advise to not engage any Bitcoin<=>Marijuana trades.
We have enough bad press already.

i suppose there will be not much change and there may even be a small drop in usage of bitcoin to buy Marijuana particularly! i say this because people usually seek other means of payment for drugs especially to keep their identity from being revealed and if it is legalized then there is no point in that anymore but there is still so many other things to buy!

if it's already legal in the US they don't have to use bitcoin in the help to buy or sell , it's like you are hiding or evading the law now that it's legal you can go buy it in person and I think there would some pharmacy or medical shops that would sell it for medicinal purposes . but still it is a good news for people who have a big expectation for cannabis to help them cure their illness .

It would be a great idea to to sell weed and accept bitcoin as a payment method.

I don`t know how many people who smoke marijuana use bitcoin.

I doubt that they are a large number.

You have this so wrong, it's not even funny. " Bitcoins, unfortunately, is only used to buy illegal products " WTF, so you are then just as guilty of this than the other people using this technology? I buy food and drinks with Bitcoin every day, and it contains nothing illegal. ^hmmmmm^

Those who can buy any product, can chose any method of payment they want to, and if Bitcoin has features that allow them to make this easier or more private, then they would opt to use Bitcoin.

As mentioned sufferers of such worse diseases feel much difficulty on buying from dark net market, because finding someone trusty in dark net market itself really hard. Now legalization helps buying with ease and when bitcoin too gets accepted scams gets reduced.

The biggest problem here is as the marijuanna is legalized most people will not use it for the medical benefit but would rather abuse everything which will consequently lead to serious social vices. Using bitcoin for the transaction will help the a lot but we do not wish to see bitcoin use in a bad things.

The passage of legalization of Marijuana in many states will not have any effect on Bitcoin, unfortunately. The reason why many state governments decided to legalize marijuana, either for recreational use or medicinal use, is because they realize how big the business currently is, how many people use the drug, and how much money they can make by taxing it. If Bitcoin is not able to be taxed in the United States and the government can not get their share, it will not be widely accepted.

At least in California the vote was for the legality of recreational use of marijuana since medical use has been legal for quite some time already, but even before this there were a lot of people abusing the system for medicinal use.

well, i dont see bitcoin being pumped because of marijuana, but yeah, bitcoin will definitelly help to buy.
it's like porn, doesnt matter if it is legal, Some people will always deny that they use and will buy it anonymously

I think the marijuana burned your brain, because one thing doesn't make sense with the other.

Isn't marijuana who will make BTC more important and popular. It would only help haters argument to say that BTC isn't a good thing and that people buy negative stuff with this coin. Bitcoin need good and positive arguments that really worth and become popular between good people.

Thank you!

As bitcoin is anonymous, it can help in ilegal transactions so if it's legalized, why people will use bitcoin?

It's more easy to pay in fiat.

bitcoin is already playing a role in the Marijuana world and people already are able to purchase it online with the help of bitcoin ,the world is getting closer with technology

Just one or two and a lot of them are allowing for being the medical use and no more. and that's was not for all type of the cannabis.
I don't think marijuana are included at the one with routinely used.

Here in Canada I know a few pot growers that have their hands on both sides of the legality issue,meaning they have legit and illegal means of making profit on pot.
The transaction of pot for bitcoin is a good way to get caught up when you can just stick to the way business is working,why change a good working model?
You start making big moves with bitcoin you will set off alarms or set your self up for some one sniffing in your business other then cops.

I think for a customer the transacting in bitcoin is a pain if you do not use it for any other purchases. I need to buy weed at the shop,better first go buy bitcoin?
Its a extra step that is not needed,its easier to buy pot than bitcoin here and we lead the world with atms or at one point did,not sure now.

These shops are starting to get ripped off now as well,so why carry a ledger that shows daily transactions. Meaning I go to the shop a deposit into their wallet and then go home and watch that wallet address to see not just the money but how often people go. It would then give you a idea when to best hit them. Imagine walking in and instead of dufflebags you just put the coin all on a burner phone.
This plan that bitcoin is going hand in hand seems limited and shortsighted.

The only thing that help the use of bitcoin is the prohibition of drugs because it's an anonymous currency.

I'm here trying to discovery how do you think that btc can help with this legal business.

correct me if i am wrong but i find this question real strange!

you say weed has been legalized which means you can buy and sell it without any hassle in places where it is legal and then you ask can we do it with BTC? why would you want to do that when it is legal to do it with cash?

Yes you are definitely right in saying that bitcoin though it can be used in buying marijuana doesnt guarantee that bitcoins market price will surge up. It may affect the market but not significantly. BUt why think of marijuana when you can buy other things rather than just marijuana, why not enjoy the benefits of bitcoin on other things other than marijuana.

I used the wrong word and it should have been "mostly". I have seen it happening often and I'm not saying this for everyone but many times people use bitcoins so that their trades are anonymous. I convert my btc for fiat and even I use it in an illegal way but I've seen people who I had traded with earlier sell it to people with stolen debit card and drugs.

I want bitcoins to be associated with good things but in many countries, drugs/terrorist weapons are only being linked to bitcoins and hence since one drug like marijuana has become legal, people may not use bitcoins for being legal things.

You already could by getting your weed from the darknet market places. That is what is cool about Bitcoin, you do not have to follow government regulations to get and do what you want. Most of the people here look like they are lost on what Bitcoin is really all about. But we are all here waiting for the Bitcoin price to go to the moon so that is fine.

I don't think it wouldn't affect a lot, because isn't it common to sell those kinds of thing with Bitcoin.

I agree with you, what is the purpose of using Bitcoin to buy those things if you don't even have to be anonymous anymore.

I don't think bitcoin can help because there are no related between bitcoin and marijuana although it is about legalization of marijuana and although Donald Trump makes it becomes something legal usage for american people, bitcoin still there are no related with marijuana and almost all of countries reject legalization of marijuana.

It is not going to have the direct impact on the price of Bitcoin as most people suggested, but I can see the indirect impact, the market is very huge and with time some of the money is going to find way into Bitcoin, especially those that want to evade tax