My First Legal Medical Grow

Status
Not open for further replies.

billcollector99

Well-Known Member
By DANA MATTIOLI

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


Scott's Miracle-Gro is hoping to cash in on the growing medical marijuana business. WSJ's Dana Mattioli reports. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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."

More

Law Blog: Medical Marijuana Law Doesn't Trump Employer's Drug Policy
Health Blog: Would You Invest Your Money in Medical Marijuana?
Medical-Marijuana Firms Hold High Hopes for Fund Raising
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.

Sixteen states have legalized medical marijuana, the largest being California and Colorado. The market will reach $1.7 billion in sales this year, according to a report by See Change Strategy LLC, an information data services company.

While the report focuses on revenue from growers and dispensaries, Kris Lotlikar, president of See Change, said the market for companies selling hydroponic equipment and professional services is also thriving.

"We see very good growth for these types of companies as the medical-marijuana business grows," he said.

Altered States

Top US markets for medical marijuana, forecast 2011 sales

California: $1.3 billion
Colorado: $244 million
Michigan: $53 million
Montana: $44 million
Washington: $29 million
Source: See Change Strategy LLC
Marijuana use remains illegal under federal law, but federal raids on medical dispensaries have eased since President Obama took office. And while major public companies haven't openly targeted the market, in recent months medical-marijuana companies have sought money from venture capitalists and signaled future IPOs.

Centennial Seed Co., a Boulder, Colo., medical-cannabis seed seller, is seeking $500,000 through a private offering. General Cannabis Inc., whose stock trades on the Pink Sheets, supports the medical-marijuana market with financial and Internet services.

Journal Community


The 55-year-old Mr. Hagedorn isn't a typical suit-wearing CEO. A former F-16 fighter pilot, he flies his Cessna to and from meetings in Port Washington, N.Y., where he grew up, and the company's headquarters in Ohio, much to the chagrin of his board. He also peppers his language with swear words and military references, and he showed up at the office on a recent June day in jeans and sneakers.

Mr. Hagedorn took over Miracle-Gro from his father, who co-founded the company. The idea to merge with Scotts dawned on him after he looked at the company's market value in 1995, he said, so he called his father's tax lawyer to vet the idea. "I said, 'Bob, I got this f— crazy idea. Do you think it'd be f— possible to take over Scotts?'" he recalls, sitting in the Port Washington office that his father once occupied.

More on Miracle-Gro

Where the Grass Is Made Greener (8/19/2009)

Scotts Miracle-Gro CEO Jim Hagedorn discusses how the company is trying to balance eco-friendly and natural products against its traditional lawn care line. Wendy Bounds reports.


Wendy Bounds visits the Scotts Miracle-Gro labs for a look at the newest methods in pest-control.

Mr. Hagedorn is serious about sales growth, no matter how small. On a recent trip to a Farmingdale, N.Y., Home Depot, he saw a customer having a difficult time choosing soil. "C'mon, go help him out," he told Mike Carbonara, Scotts' president for the Northeast. A few minutes later, the customer was walking away with a bag of Miracle-Gro. Over the next half hour, Mr. Carbonara influenced three more sales.

Targeting marijuana isn't the only way Mr. Hagedorn is pursuing growth outside the national chains. Scotts is also looking to sell more through grocery stores.

And the company is recultivating its ties to independent lawn-and-garden-store owners, including offering them exclusive products. Mr. Hagedorn strained those ties with a 2009 speech in which he criticized the owners for not doing enough to promote Scotts products, prompting many owners to walk out.

"I don't give speeches to independents anymore," he said.

To target marijuana growers, Scotts would likely buy niche dirt companies that already exist rather than create its own line of branded products.


JIM HAGEDORN

Raids on pot-growing operations have turned up Scotts products. Mr. Hagedorn takes that as a good sign of brand awareness, but he fears that some growers would be reluctant to use a mainstream product.

Rollitup.org, a website geared toward the marijuana-growing community, has several forums that debate Miracle-Gro's effectiveness. A user with the moniker Weedqueen12 wrote: "i think [Miracle-Gro] works well." Another user, dannyboy602, countered that Miracle-Gro causes pot plants to "burn and stress."

In the past, Scotts wouldn't have considered pursuing businesses or product lines that generated less than $10 million a year in revenue. But, Mr. Hagedorn said, "We can't operate our business like that anymore."
 

bekindbud

Well-Known Member
I have used the MG soil before and it worked well for me, my MD was grown in that...

Top US markets for medical marijuana, forecast 2011 sales

California: $1.3 billion
Colorado: $244 million
Michigan: $53 million
Montana: $44 million
Washington: $29 million

WOW!!!!

Peace

BKB
 

billcollector99

Well-Known Member
I have used the MG soil before and it worked well for me, my MD was grown in that...

Top US markets for medical marijuana, forecast 2011 sales

California: $1.3 billion
Colorado: $244 million
Michigan: $53 million
Montana: $44 million
Washington: $29 million

WOW!!!!

Peace

BKB
Yeah except MG is owned by monsanto, I will never knowingly buy another one of their products again...
 

Dwezelitsame

Well-Known Member
im gona send a lot of papers out
on pollen catching storing an use
i just got them back from pb
bkbshowed interest
so ill send them to him
he can obsorb and then get them to you
you do the same and return them

diff peeps take on the subjects



read
make copys of interested
keep together
and mail back


holla if ady diff
 

wheels619

Well-Known Member
i have decided to murder that other mercury and just start completely over. it started doing the same shit to me. if it was stable it would have been some bad ass smoke. but im not going to risk it getting all of my neigbors plants preggo too. so ill post some pictures of it later on after i beat the hell out of it with my novelty padres baseball bat. :)
 

wheels619

Well-Known Member
yeah i know. it just blows that all that effort and 2 good sized plants took a shit. got those two seeds in the shed. gonna drop the 1000 to about a foot above them in the morning after i do some killing and make room. ill show some pics hopefully. watered those cougars today. cant wait till they are healthy enough for the box :) they be some good smoke once they are done. gonna top the skywalker and purp le pew hopefully in the next few days. think u can clone the tops for me?
 

wheels619

Well-Known Member
yeah i know. lol. but i just dont want to learn with one clone from each. lol. to much for me to screw up. im gonna vegg out a mom and cut a bunch of clones off of it then try to learn when i have the extra to do it with. :)
 

Shwagbag

Well-Known Member
I have used the MG soil before and it worked well for me, my MD was grown in that...

Top US markets for medical marijuana, forecast 2011 sales

California: $1.3 billion
Colorado: $244 million
Michigan: $53 million
Montana: $44 million
Washington: $29 million

WOW!!!!

Peace

BKB
I wonder where they collect this data from? Seems awfully low to me lol
 

wheels619

Well-Known Member
hey going to gorilla tomorrow or i guess its today. lol. u need anything? i gotta pick up like three or 4 air stones and some smart pots. u think 1 or 2 gallons for the 12/12 stuff?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top