HOW AMERICA BOTCHED CANNABIS LEGALIZATION
As for the criticism that OCM’s focus on social equity and the slow rollout of the licensed market is effectively helping the unlicensed market take root on seemingly every corner of Manhattan and the other four boroughs, Kagia says doing the right thing takes time. “The state would generate about $200 million per year with 20% of the existing smoke shops converting to a transitional license,” says Paula Collins, an attorney who represents unlicensed dispensaries.
The real issue at hand is that some of the unlicensed shops, especially those operating as private clubs with modest “membership fees,” have a sound legal argument thanks to a loophole, or a “safe harbor provision,” depending on your perspective, in the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act that allows their unlicensed businesses to operate legally.
“I estimate that the state would generate about $180 million to $200 million per year with 20% of the existing smoke shops converting to a transitional license,” says Collins. “The way I see it is that the unlicensed market has always been here, and these transactions have always occurred. But it’s really the state that’s not making the overtures to the unlicensed market, which I think would really solve a lot of problems and put money in the pockets of the state and the city.