California’s black market for pot is stifling legal sales. Now the governor wants to step up enforcement
(And they said… ‘Legalizing with stop the black market, lower crime and raise revenue? Only ‘crime’ reduced was ‘possession of pot’ laws. Black Market thriving. Any profit from Weed sales quick swallowed up by different version of ‘regulation & enforcement’ and growing health care costs!!!) FEB 18, 2019
Before he was elected governor, Gavin Newsom was instrumental in legalizing marijuana for recreational use in California. Now, as he settles into office, he faces the challenge of fixing a system that has been slow to bloom.
But a new report from the state Cannabis Advisory Committee on the first year of legal pot sales in California says there is problem that requires urgent action: “Fragmented and uncoordinated” enforcement has allowed the black market to flourish, threatening licensed business with unfair competition…
“Lack of enforcement is creating a thriving environment for the unregulated ‘underground market,’…As much as 80% of the marijuana sold in California comes from the black market, according to an estimate by New Frontier Data, a firm that tracks cannabis sales and trends. Analysts also found that California’s illicit pot market was valued at an estimated $3.7 billion last year, more than four times the size of the legal market.
For complete story https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-gavin-newsom-crackdown-pot-black-market-20190219-story.html