Or a strong case for making pot legal at the federal level.
Well, that, and curb the practice of charging prohibition prices for legal pot.
I don't see it as a minor concession, I see it as a silly hypocrisy. Allowing folks to grow a small amount for personal consumption isn't going to lead to any black market growth, as long as you're doing legalization right. Perhaps it's something to revisit when you get it figured out a little more down there, but ultimately this really only benefits corporate growers. You can almost hear them whispering this one in the ears of lawmakers. It doesn't really align itself with the image of freedom you guys like to project.
Also, unimportant, but just because I'm feeling chatty... If you're going to stick with the alcohol analogy, distilling would be more accurately associated with the concentrates...hash, oil, shatter, tinctures, etc. And given the technical nature of those products, I have no problem with their production being regulated to where a corporate production model would be the only realistic way to comply...though I have a jar of this pot infused topical cream that I got from a lady who made it in her kitchen, and it takes the pain out of these knees miles better than anything else I'd feel comfortable taking regularly. These politicians have got to get over this idea we're messing with plutonium.
I've always thought that the pot industry should look more like the wine industry...it's probably the model that translates best, and would be best for the industry.
Frankly, for me, it comes down to the fact that I don't trust profit motivated entities to put my health and safety first. We don't need another tobacco industry. So I guess I'm glad we did it the way we did it up here. While it's far from perfect, it's pointed in the right direction, allowing for both big business to cash in, but allow people the freedom to make the decisions that are right for them. It might seem like a small concession, but folks might think differently a ways down the road, when they realize that there's no framework for personal production, and it's a lot trickier to sort out than it would have been if you'd gotten it right out of the gates.