Is this home brew thing big up there?
I really have not read about much of any significant black market booze production here in the states. Maybe you still find people brewing for themselves/families/friends in various parts, but not a serious market.
As for weed, one local shop is more expensive than my guy used to have, and another one cheaper. Both are top-quality, and besides, I know they're pretty exacting when it comes to standards and check-ups for stuff like pesticide use.
Mm...not really home brewing, at least, not in the circles I run in. A lot of people have tried the u-brew thing, including myself. I've got an excellent place nearby, with a guy running it who used to work for one of the big breweries, everything he makes turns out great...but ultimately the discount isn't enough to make the organization and bottle inventory worth it. Maybe if I was more of a drinker, but ... for me it's just easier to buy a case of beer when I want one. I think that's the same for most folks.
I don't know how much blackmarket booze production there is here either, but I would expect it would be more than down there, because we pay more for our booze up here. Like, a fair bit more. Of course, moonshine isn't the only way to get at blackmarket booze. The bikers up here make great money robbing liquor stores, bars, and transport trucks. And it isn't always about price. The guy I buy shine from is cheaper than what I'd buy in a store, but not by much. I just like his stuff, and I'm kinda all about that shop local...hehe...
As for pot...when you take the black market variable out of the equation, the price should drop drastically. It's a plant, and not a particularly difficult one to grow. Yes, sure, the genetics make the difference, and that's valuable, but even there...the work is done, and most of it was done for free in the black market era. All those fancy strains you see now are just hybrids of things already done. I can buy a packet of seeds of the best genetics on the planet one time, for not all that much money, and make clones for the rest of my life. There is simply no justification for the prices we see in legal markets. I can buy the same strain from a government store up here for $260 an ounce that I can from the Native reservation shop for $100-$150 an ounce, which I can also get from a black market seller for $80 an ounce, and they are all making money. On the same strain.
And to be honest, the black market guy is currently doing the best job, and he's able to tell me the exact THC % of his herb the same way the government store can, because he's got the equipment to check. I know him, so I trust him. I've seen his operation, I know how he grows his stuff, you won't find him using pesticide on his tomatoes, let alone his pot. So, I buy from him. :shrug: I would suggest that a lot of black market pot is now grown this way, given how many people are allowed to actually grow. He has a license to grow 80 plants at a time (which seems absurd to me, as it's for one patient, but I ain't complaining). It's only the distribution part that's a no-no...but...lol...it was all a no-no not so long ago, and that never stopped me. Only price would make me change my decision making process at this point. This would be obvious to anyone who was actually more interested in stopping a black market economy than enabling corporate greed. If it's not a priority for them, it's not a priority for me.