on the five authorized cannabis stores in unincorporated areas. Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, also wants to help the industry by legalizing the sale of food and nonalcoholic beverages at cannabis retailers and lounges.It’s a tall order. As long as illegal cannabis products cost half as much as legal ones — aslast year by UC Davis economists Robin Goldstein and Daniel Sumner — they will dominate sales.
Legal shops in California clearly need a more level playing field to thrive. Given that most illegal sellers advertise their services, authorities have a blueprint for an effective crackdown. But the longer that doesn’t really materialize statewide, the less likely lawmakers who aren’t enamored of a law-and-order agenda will be to pursue it. California will never “substantially address” the black market as a result.
Five years ago, Newsom said he felt “a deep sense of responsibility” to make sure Proposition 64 worked well. It’s time for him to demonstrate that.
$20M in revenue from legal is bad?
It’s not about competition from outside the system, it’s a system that’s poorly constructed, overly regulated and dominated by large entities who are also still selling into the illegal market. Most illegal weed leaves the state.
As the article points out it's twice as expensive to buy from a legal store. You gotta ask yourself, is that because of the huge tax levy and the cost of licensing the business or excessive profits by retailers?
Yes and no.