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California authorities have tripled the number of raids on unlicensed cannabis shops in the last year and seized $30 million in pot products, but legal industry leaders say enforcement is still inadequate to break the dominance of the black market in the state.
Well...
California seizes $30 million in black market cannabis from illegal pot shops - Los Angeles Times
So if the state doesn't get their cut of the proceeds then it goes after "illegal" distributors. The good news is that those raids and fines aren't a "war on drugs" because....well, because...
Hmm, maybe legalization hasn't really fixed anything. Maybe all it did was cut the state government in on the trade.
Well...
California seizes $30 million in black market cannabis from illegal pot shops - Los Angeles Times
So if the state doesn't get their cut of the proceeds then it goes after "illegal" distributors. The good news is that those raids and fines aren't a "war on drugs" because....well, because...
Hmm, maybe legalization hasn't really fixed anything. Maybe all it did was cut the state government in on the trade.
Well...
California seizes $30 million in black market cannabis from illegal pot shops - Los Angeles Times
So if the state doesn't get their cut of the proceeds then it goes after "illegal" distributors. The good news is that those raids and fines aren't a "war on drugs" because....well, because...
Hmm, maybe legalization hasn't really fixed anything. Maybe all it did was cut the state government in on the trade.
I expect price is a factor that will keep bootlegged pot on the market for a while. It's not a reason to stop the trend toward legalization. Unless you think that repealing prohibition was a failure too.
"Legalize it so that it can be taxed and regulated" we were told. Well what if people do not want to pay more for those taxes and regulations in order to have their highs? Back to square one, I suppose.
So because there are those that sell illegal cigarettes, should we ban smoking and throw millions in jail in a massive authoritarian government program?
I expect price is a factor that will keep bootlegged pot on the market for a while. It's not a reason to stop the trend toward legalization. Unless you think that repealing prohibition was a failure too.
"Legalize it so that it can be taxed and regulated" we were told. Well what if people do not want to pay more for those taxes and regulations in order to have their highs? Back to square one, I suppose.
Well...
California seizes $30 million in black market cannabis from illegal pot shops - Los Angeles Times
So if the state doesn't get their cut of the proceeds then it goes after "illegal" distributors. The good news is that those raids and fines aren't a "war on drugs" because....well, because...
Hmm, maybe legalization hasn't really fixed anything. Maybe all it did was cut the state government in on the trade.
"Legalize it so that it can be taxed and regulated" we were told. Well what if people do not want to pay more for those taxes and regulations in order to have their highs? Back to square one, I suppose.
Well...
California seizes $30 million in black market cannabis from illegal pot shops - Los Angeles Times
So if the state doesn't get their cut of the proceeds then it goes after "illegal" distributors. The good news is that those raids and fines aren't a "war on drugs" because....well, because...
Hmm, maybe legalization hasn't really fixed anything. Maybe all it did was cut the state government in on the trade.
The problem is that state legal pot stores cannot get bank loans and have to rely on their own cash reserves so the prices are high because the risk is high. Decriminalizing pot federally will open up these distributors to bank loans and easier cash reserves which will drive prices lower.
There is no chance whatsoever that taxed and regulated marijuana will be priced lower than unregulated, untaxed marijuana. Maybe if Califirnia decided to subsidize the production and sale of marijuana instead of tax it they could get the price down to black market rates.
The only way to get the price down is to federally decriminalize marijuana so they have the same access to bank loans as alcohol producers do. You cannot tell me that not allowing any bank loans makes a business less risky. It's quite simple, the war on drugs was a failure and just like alcohol prices eventually lowered after prohibition so will this.
The existence of some degree of black market does not indicate failure. That's absurd. You might as well advocate a return to prohibition because there is still some black market liquor out there.
This is especially true where legalization is hardly national. Of course there's going to be black market entry into legalization states if it's still illegal in most states.
There is no chance whatsoever that taxed and regulated marijuana will be priced lower than unregulated, untaxed marijuana. Maybe if Califirnia decided to subsidize the production and sale of marijuana instead of tax it they could get the price down to black market rates.
Well, Mr Person, yes, I am certainly supportive though not a drum-pounding advocate of Prohibition, certainly. I think the consumption of alcohol causes so many negative externalities that I believe it would be proper to make it illegal for regular consumption in large quantities for anything except a cooking additive.
The existence of some degree of black market does not indicate failure, especially where legal shops are doing a large volume of business. That's absurd. You might as well advocate a return to prohibition because there is still some black market liquor out there. Moreover, it's the kind of logic that leads to absurd results if we take the principle - the failure of a law to completely stop a practice - and apply to it to any other law. For example, robbery. There are laws against robbery. Have they deterred some people who might otherwise rob? Maybe. But some people are never going to be deterred. Doesn't mean the law itself is somehow inherently flawed.
But as for pot, there is no reason to think a black market will completely vanish when it is legal in only a small minority of states. National legalization would seriously shrink the black market. I doubt you could ever get rid of it at this point, just like there is still some degree of black market in liquor or wine even (ie, counterfeits).
The fact of the matter is that in legalization states, more and more users turn to the legal shops. States are making revenue. The experiment is going just fine. In a legal shop you know exactly what strains you're getting. You know exactly how much you're getting. You generally also get a readout of how much THC, CBD and other cannaboids are in it. Because it's well-regulated, you can be assured the grower isn't using any pesticides or anything that might remain on the flower and harm you, etc. You can buy edibles you don't have the equipment at home to make (nor are sold on a black market). Etc. The fact that some people might still seek even cheaper stuff on the black market does not indicate some kind of failure.
But the "back to square one" position has a further and bigger flaw: it shouldn't be illegal, period. I should never have been illegal. It's the safest recreational drug, way more so than alcohol. And the bottom line is the only thing keeping it illegal did was create huge drug cartels.
So "oops, there's still some black market" is by no means "back to square one".
"Legalize it so that it can be taxed and regulated" we were told. Well what if people do not want to pay more for those taxes and regulations in order to have their highs? Back to square one, I suppose.
There is no chance whatsoever that taxed and regulated marijuana will be priced lower than unregulated, untaxed marijuana. Maybe if Califirnia decided to subsidize the production and sale of marijuana instead of tax it they could get the price down to black market rates.
"Legalize it so that it can be taxed and regulated" we were told. Well what if people do not want to pay more for those taxes and regulations in order to have their highs? Back to square one, I suppose.
sighSo if the state doesn't get their cut of the proceeds then it goes after "illegal" distributors. The good news is that those raids and fines aren't a "war on drugs" because....well, because...
Pot is a whole lot different than prohibition. Marijuana is a weed. Absolutely anybody can grow the stuff. It requires little to no special equipment or expertise to get a functional product. Trying to tax such a product will only be just so effective ESPECIALLY in a place like southern California which will have a 12 month growing season.
"Legalize it so that it can be taxed and regulated" we were told. Well what if people do not want to pay more for those taxes and regulations in order to have their highs? Back to square one, I suppose.
Well...
California seizes $30 million in black market cannabis from illegal pot shops - Los Angeles Times
So if the state doesn't get their cut of the proceeds then it goes after "illegal" distributors. The good news is that those raids and fines aren't a "war on drugs" because....well, because...
Hmm, maybe legalization hasn't really fixed anything. Maybe all it did was cut the state government in on the trade.
Pot is a whole lot different than prohibition. Marijuana is a weed. Absolutely anybody can grow the stuff. It requires little to no special equipment or expertise to get a functional product. Trying to tax such a product will only be just so effective ESPECIALLY in a place like southern California which will have a 12 month growing season.
Appalachian moonshining continued to thrive even after Prohibition’s repeal thanks to the persistence of dry counties and a desire to evade hefty federal alcohol taxes. “Moonshiners didn’t want to share the tax revenue or any of this enterprise they had built from scratch with the federal government,” says Neal Thompson, author of Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR.
People made alcohol at home during the prohibition; bathtub gin, anyone?
They did. My great grandparents had a wine press in the basement and my grandparents had all kinds of stories. There was also quite the market for "medicine" and other DIY alcohol products. The problem was that a lot of the stuff was really awful and some of it was deadly. Guys make "pruno" in prison cells but the only reason anyone drinks it is because there aren't any other options.
Getting a crop of decent weed going is a whole lot easier than cooking up a batch of bathtub gin or basement wine.
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