High Hopes at Miracle-Gro in Medical Marijuana Field

[23536]

Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. has long sold weed killer. Now, it's hoping to help people grow killer weed.

In an unlikely move for the head of a major company, Scotts Chief Executive Jim Hagedorn said he is exploring targeting medical marijuana as well as other niches to help boost sales at his lawn and garden company.

"I want to target the pot market," Mr. Hagedorn said in an interview. "There's no good reason we haven't."

Sales at Scotts rose 5% last year to $2.9 billion. But the Marysville, Ohio, company relies on sales at three key retailers—Home Depot Inc., Lowe's Cos. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.—for nearly two-thirds of its revenue. With consumers still cautious about spending, the retailers aren't building new stores as quickly as they used to, making growth for suppliers like Scotts harder to come by. Against that backdrop, Mr. Hagedorn has pushed his regional sales presidents to look for smaller pockets of growth, such as the marijuana market, that together could produce a noticeable bump in sales.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...32.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird

 

[Herbal~Jah]

Is there something wrong with using just the normal Miracle-Gro Potting Soil for growing bud?

 

[23536]

^I think the company is planning to sell its own weed.

 

[Ody]

I think it is only wise to organically produce herbal medicine...

 

[slimvictor]

Weed grown by a pesticide company?
Doesn't sound like good news to me.
Give me some organic, high-octane, fair trade, vitamin-enhanced, collectively grown, lovingly harvested weed over that stuff.

 

[Mora Fiend]

^ Agree.

It's like anything else in America though, you can go and buy a pair of sneakers at Wal-Mart for 20 bucks or you can buy a pair of Wingtips, all comes down to choice.

If this pesticide company produces a cheap, economical, low-grade Marijuana then they will probably be successful.

All comes down to marketting, if they market this cheap weed to a lower-income class of people then I am sure it would sell.

 

[23536]

If this pesticide company produces a cheap, economical, low-grade Marijuana then they will probably be successful.

All comes down to marketting, if they market this cheap weed to a lower-income class of people then I am sure it would sell.

put it in the produce section of supermarkets for a couple of dollars a pound

do the same with opium, coca, khat and etc.

I pray for a ton of corporations to jump on the drug bandwagon.

 

[skillet]

^I think the company is planning to sell its own weed.

Where did you get that idea? It sounds to me like they're just going to buy the rights to a brand of fertiliser and sell that.

Herbal~Jah, yeah you can just use normal potting soil, it might help to add some vermiculite or similar to make it lighter and more airy though.

 

[Ody]

put it in the produce section of supermarkets for a couple of dollars a pound

do the same with opium, coca, khat and etc.

I pray for a ton of corporations to jump on the drug bandwagon.

The less corporate involvement in a situation plagued by evil the better.

 

[23536]

The less corporate involvement in a situation plagued by evil the better.

here are other mechanisms for legalization:

2) Decades of patience
3) Bloodshed and insurrection

 

[Damien]

Is there something wrong with using just the normal Miracle-Gro Potting Soil for growing bud?

I've heard that some of their soils don't release the nutrients in a way that's desirable causing nutrient burn. I've also heard that it's fine.
A lot of people don't like it but I think it's because of the very reason Micracle-Gro is thinking of getting into the market; people (especially noobs) buy fertilizers, soil and nutrients that are being marketed towards the MMJ industry.

I think some of these products might even be the same thing just in a new packaging coming from some newly formed subsidiary.

It's a pretty wise move. Weed seems to be a pretty easy thing to grow and it's not like horticulture was invented yesterday. I'm sure a company like Miracle-Gro will be able to come out with some quality products that just may undercut the competition.

Weed grown by a pesticide company?
Doesn't sound like good news to me.
Give me some organic, high-octane, fair trade, vitamin-enhanced, collectively grown, lovingly harvested weed over that stuff.

Miracle-Gro markets a lot more than pesticides.

 

[Roger&Me]

I don't understand why everyone is so against "pesticides" anyway, most people don't even know what the most commonly used chemical pesticides are. Its just some knee-jerk phobia of "chemicals" without any data to back it up.

 

[PwnX]

I don't understand why everyone is so against "pesticides" anyway, most people don't even know what the most commonly used chemical pesticides are. Its just some knee-jerk phobia of "chemicals" without any data to back it up.

People just fear things that they are too dumb to understand.

 

[Herbal~Jah]

WHAT THE HELL ARE ALL YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT, That micracle-gro is going to be growing their own bud to sell?!? THAT WOULD BE ILLEGAL! and further more if you read the article it just says they want to basically make a little division on the side that caters nutrients/soil/stuff for growing bud to marijuana growers..

jimminy crickets you guys get carried away and do any of u actually read the article??

 

[slimvictor]

I don't understand why everyone is so against "pesticides" anyway, most people don't even know what the most commonly used chemical pesticides are. Its just some knee-jerk phobia of "chemicals" without any data to back it up.

I cannot possibly fathom this attitude. You are like an ostrich, hiding your head in the sand and pretending that pesticides are actually quite healthy, trying to say something bad about people who have the common sense not to trust food containing chemicals designed to kill living beings.

Even the US gov, which is not the place I go to for an unbiased assessment due to the economic/political ties with the pesticide-producing companies, has this to say:

Laboratory studies show that pesticides can cause health problems, such as birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects that might occur over a long period of time.

source

The single-most common pesticide, to my knowledge, is Roundup. It is so common that there are genetically-modified crops designed specifically to withstand repeated applications (which would otherwise kill the crop, along with the insects).
It is considered one of the safest, least toxic pesticides.
Heard the recent news that Roundup causes birth defects, and that Monsanto, along with industry regulators, have known this for decades?

People just fear things that they are too dumb to understand.

Hard to know how to respond to such a statement.
Most people I know don't understand how a computer works, but I don't know anyone afraid of computers. Do you?
We, as a community including scientists/ neurologists, still understand very little about how the brain works. Anyone out there afraid of the brain?

Exposure to pesticides has been shown to result in increased risk of leukemia and lymphoma; brain, lung and testicular cancers; decreased fertility; liver and pancreatic damage; immune system disturbances, like asthma and allergies; increase in stillbirths; and decrease in sperm counts. That is only in adults. Children are more susceptible to the dangers of pesticides and fertilizers, because of their rapid breathing and metabolic rates.

So, we allow a limited exposure to such pesticides - a smaller amount than that shown to cause such horrific diseases. However, we allow many different pesticides to be used on the same crops, which means that, in one meal, we get small amounts of many dozens of pesticides. There have been few, if any, studies of the results of combining pesticides.

No, you are right, there is no reason to fear incessantly taking small amounts of substances known to be extremely harmful in combinations never tested for their health effects on human beings. That is simply ignorance, because we don't understand pesticides.

Maybe you, with your superior knowledge that leads you to a place without fear, can enlighten us as to some studies showing that such combinations of pesticides are completely safe? Then we can ditch our fears and bathe in the freedom of knowledge, like you.

 

[Splinterguitar69]

Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. has long sold weed killer. Now, it's hoping to help people grow killer weed.

Not gonna lie, I lol'ed

But seriously it would be a BAD business move for the home improvement/gardening business to stay out of the marijuana field, especially with these new court rulings in Canada legalizing pot, and a few US states maybe trying it in a the next decade

 

[slimvictor]

What does Miracle-Gro stand to gain?Lots of new customers. An exact amount is unclear, but the medical marijuana industry is expected to reach $1.7 billion in sales this year alone, according to a recent report. Scotts, by contrast, takes in $2.9 billion in annual sales. That makes marijuana a potentially important source of sales growth, which Scotts needs. It relies heavily on big box stores such as Home Depot and Wal-Mart, whose customers are watching their spending as the economy falters.

Is anyone else jumping on the medical marijuna trend?
Actually, yes. Software developers are reportedly creating applications that would help dispensary operators get straight to the customer. In Sacramento, Calif., the first medical marijuana franchise, WeGro — the "Wal-Mart of Weed" — opened in March. And on Tuesday, former talk-show host Montel Williams opened his own medical marijuana dispensary in California.

http://theweek.com/article/index/216317/miracle-gro-for-marijuana