'I really love the vibes': How Yelp boosts black market pot shops

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An untold number of unlicensed dispensaries operate in plain sight across Los Angeles and appear on Yelp. The online review site said it won't remove the illegal businesses, but is planning to make a policy shift spurred by an NBCNews investigation.

The little shop on West Jefferson Boulevard near downtown Los Angeles is easy to overlook. It sits on a bustling corner, in a storefront with no windows and a crude poster for a sign.The shop, University 20 Cap, has a reason to avoid drawing attention to itself — it's an unlicensed marijuana dispensary. The black market operation sells, among other products, bootleg THC vape pens linked to the rash of severe lung illnesses plaguing the country.

Cuomo said big online companies like Yelp have little incentive to better police their content."We haven't seen strong evidence that they are going to suffer a great deal of backlash whether from the public or legislators," Cuomo said. In response to questions, Yelp said it won't remove the illegal businesses."Removing local businesses from Yelp could hurt consumers as they would no longer have that resource for information, whether positive or negative, about the business," a spokesperson said."Consumers have a right to speak their minds about all businesses, irrespective of licensing status."

 

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