Advocates often said legal marijuana would kill the black market. It turns out the opposite has happened.
Natalie Fertig is a writer in Washington, D.C., covering cannabis and politics.
Though each state has its own issues, the problems have similar outlines: Underfunded law enforcement officers and slow-moving regulators are having trouble building a legal regime fast enough to contain a high-demand product that already has a large existing criminal network to supply it. And at the national level, advocates also point to another, even bigger structural issue: Problems are inevitable in a nation where legalization is so piecemeal.
“If anything, it’s gotten worse" since legalization, Oregon State Police Sgt. Brandon Boice says. “There’s still high demand for Southern Oregon marijuana throughout the country, that has not changed.” “Law enforcement is just inundated with illegal marijuana and exportation,” Boice says. “There aren’t enough resources in place for us to do anything about it.”has become a massive headache for its neighbors like Idaho, the illicit markets thriving in parts of California and Massachusetts are self-inflicted wounds.
So in the interim, Samura has continued running his private club, one of a handful in Boston and Worcester, where customers can bring their own product—much of it home grown or purchased on the illicit market—and share and smoke communally. They are unlicensed and supposedly legal, but when asked by POLITICO, state and local officials disagreed on whose job it is to regulate them.
“It’s probably premature to say that we’ve had a big dent in the illicit market” says Steve Hoffman of the Massachusetts Cannabis Commission, the state’s independent commission created to monitor the licensed cannabis market. And, he adds, “I don’t think we’re ever completely going to eliminate the illicit market, I think that’s probably unrealistic.”
“You better have a lot of money and a whole lot of patience,” he says. “Because California is so not for everybody.” —but often the dispensaries just pop up again somewhere else. The city shuts off power and then the dispensaries buy generators. The LA city attorney has begun to go after landlords, levying $20,000 fines for every day the illicit dispensaries remain open.
“Of all the 542 cities and counties we have in the state, collectively, only a quarter of those allow retail locations,” Traverso said. “But to say there are no retail locations operating in those ... just because you ban [marijuana] doesn’t mean it’s not there.”
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
A look at the legal argument for commencing an impeachment inquiryFormer senior FBI official Chuck Rosenberg, former Senator Claire McCaskill, former federal prosecutor Berit Berger, and former Congressman David Jolly on how launching an impeachment inquiry could be helpful in compelling former White House counsel Don McGahn’s testimony
Leer más »
French carmaker Peugeot to seek European company legal statusFrench carmaker Peugeot said it would be looking to take up the formal legal sta...
Leer más »
Opponents of Georgia abortion ban ask court to block it during legal challengeOpponents of a Georgia law that bans abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy have asked a judge to prevent the law from going into effect while they challenge it in court.
Leer más »
Bayer, Battling Roundup Legal Claims, to Sell Dr. Scholl’sBayer, the German pharmaceuticals and chemicals group battling legal claims over its Roundup herbicide, will sell its Dr. Scholl’s foot-care business to Yellow Wood Partners for $585 million.
Leer más »
25 Movies That Will Make You Feel GreatA totally legal and guilt-free way to get your kicks.
Leer más »
Cnbc @CNBCThe Senate Banking Committee holds its first-ever hearing on challenges for cannabis businesses.
Leer más »