Sunday, Apr 04, 2010
The reality of a house price boom.....
Times: The secret cannabis kings next door
After splitting up with the father of her child, she retrained as a primary-school teacher and moved out of the capital. Like many recent graduates, she has “significant” student debts. So, two years ago, she turned, as many of her friends had done before her, to a lucrative hobby. She began growing weed.
Hannah generates much less money through cannabis than Alex, but still makes enough to pay her rent and bills.
Posted by mark @ 01:08 PM (1382 views) Add Comment
13 Comments
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1. tudorian said...
thanks for the post mark
I'm not a pot smoker (have been in the foggy past though). I had a recent conversation with friends in the pub who are seriously considering starting small scale cannabis cultivation. They informed me that they could, with a small investment of a couple of hundred pounds buy the paraphernalia, and then get growing.
The attraction is up to £800 per plant, with three 'harvests per year.
The appeal of a tax free income is undeniable, though the risk inho far outweigh the gains .... let alone the morality of drug cultivation.
I suppose, as the recession bites (rates rise / jobs lost etc) people will need to secure an income through whatever means they can.
2. tenant super said...
Lots of people rely on 'nixers' because of the soaring cost of living. Musical instrument tuition, e-bay dealing, graphic/ website design, tutoring (known as grinds in Ireland), painting and decorating, mobile catering and 'man with van' services are more common than cannabis dealing (which would cause most people too many sleepless nights). Due to cutbacks at HMRC, they estimate the chances of you getting caught evading tax on a legal enterprise are around 1% with 'grassing' still being the most common way people are caught out. HMRC relies heavily on scare tactics and compliance but with widely held resentment over bank bailouts, immigration and corrupt public 'servants' , many young people don't have any moral qualms over tax evasion on a small additional income.
3. Fraccy said...
This is a direct consequence of the Misuse of Drugs Act which creates economic value where it otherwise wouldn't be.
4. drewster said...
I agree with tenant super. I know plenty of hair-dressers who are paid cash-in-hand. Once when my car refused to start, I called a local car-repair company (listed in the yellow pages). After fixing the problem, the repairman said it would cost £x in cash or £x + 25% by cheque because he would have to "run it through the company".
5. Crunchy said...
Buying a house and thus having to run an illegal business, for some, go hand in hand.
6. alan_540 said...
Good on her, stick it to the man.
7. novice pete said...
How about I make a bit on the side selling them guns to protect their patch.
my comment is reactionary as I am not sure about excusing this sort of thing. If we excuse this then why not excuse
banker bonuses, property flippers, cocaine and heroin dealers, gun dealers, pimps etc.
8. novice pete said...
Would it not be better to legalise and sell it under the same restrictions as alcohol and tobacco?
If her customer base dries up, she could always sell it to the school kids. Maybe setup a school 'hub' in the girls toilets, plenty of
room for an extra crop.
9. alan_540 said...
Employee's bonuses & selling on property are not illegal activities and need no excuses.
10. novice pete said...
@7 alan_540 said...
Employee's bonuses & selling on property are not illegal activities and need no excuses.
Is greed at the expense of others excusable?
11. alan_540 said...
At the expense of whom exactly?
12. novice pete said...
If I were rich enough by whatever means, legal, illegal, or a combination of both, and I decided it would be a good idea to buy
all the housing stock currently for sale would you feel it was at your expense, ie, I am denying your possibility of ever owning your own house?
13. Stevie Dee said...
And if she was a graduate with a first, she would be doing "a grow" as well as running a little brothel. Then this woman would be able to pay her rent or even consider getting a mortgage. Only in the united kingdom.