He Wants to Be the 'Two Buck Chuck' of Pot

Jeff Wilcox is set to become pot's first great entrepreneur. The California businessman has convinced the Oakland city council to allow the construction of factory-style marijuana farms, aimed at producing decent-quality bud at below-average prices. For now, Wilcox is filling a niche in the local medical marijuana market. But he sees cut-rate pot—specifically, the 58 pounds a day that could be pumped out of his planned 7-acre site—as a prime mover after the drug is fully legalized. Reuters pays a visit.

Wilcox likens his efforts to those of Trader Joe's, the grocery chain that's found success selling "Two Buck Chuck"—a reasonable bottle of wine for $2. "The new Two Buck Chuck will be $40 an ounce pot," Wilcox said. His plan calls for a 3% grower's tax, which he estimates would send the California government over $2 million in revenue yearly. For a look at Proposition 19, the California ballot initiative that would legalize weed, click here.
(More medical marijuana stories.)