Following Cannabis Legalization Black Market Still Thriving

in #cannabis6 years ago

Cannabis is a multi-billion dollar market with millions of users around the world. The legal market is expected to reach more than $150 billion by 2025 with a growing number of regions now turning to embrace cannabis reform.

Canada has recently decided to move forward with cannabis legalization and formalized that decision toward the end of last year. The move meant that they had become the second country in the world to legalize.

Political leaders have frequently suggested that they did so because they wanted to remove funding from criminals and the black market.

There have reportedly been a variety of issues that officials have faced since they went ahead and introduced the plans for their version of a “legal market” for all things cannabis. There have been many complaints about packaging, license lotteries, high prices, and low quality products that have had to be recalled.

Legal cannabis is too expensive...

That's what users have been finding and officials shouldn't kid themselves that they will effectively persuade individuals to purchase at those prices.

They shouldn't be surprised to find out that there still remains a thriving black market for cannabis.

According to Statistics Canada it's estimated that the average price for a gram of “legal cannabis” is roughly $9.70 or more, this is estimated to be about 50 percent more than you'd pay for black market deals that are estimated to currently cost around $6.51 per gram.

A cheaper price isn't always the only deciding factor that will make the difference between a sale or not, but for many people the price matters a great deal and is critical to their decision making of whether or not they are going to buy.

Previous polls have found that 4 in 10 Canadians admit that price will determine if they buy legal cannabis or not.

Reports have also suggested that supply issues will also have users running back to the black market because they can't rely on the few government-approved sources to get them what they need. If their intention was to move buyers away from the black market and push them toward the legal one, it looks like they're doing a good job of trying to not accomplish that goal.

Pics:
pic 1- m moloney via shutterstock
pic 2- B Linsley wbur

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A strong black market is the goal of "legalization" because it justifies larger police budgets, expanded police powers, and bigger government. This is all by design, and now they are going to export this horrible model to New Zealand, Australia, UK, USA, and so on. It's all about money and power, not freedom for the people or markets.

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Of course legal weed is more expemsive. The black market dealer down the street doesn't charge tax for starters...

i think there is more too it than just that, a bit of stupidity involved with the central planning of it all 😂

They legalize for control, not in recognition of freedom. If they seek to remove funding from "criminals" in the black market, it's only to put that funding into their own pockets. They can have their cake and eat it too, as the true goal of the drug war - increased ingress into the private activities of individuals - will not be sacrificed. They will still harass pot-smokers, asking for their "papers" and telling them where and when they may use the substance, while extorting them all the way. They seek to establish an enforced monopoly on this natural product, and likely enough, to alter it to their purposes. Make no mistake - legalization is no boon to freedom advocates.

Have you watched the series Murder Mountain? I think you might enjoy it. It's about the cannabis industry in Humbolt and how - more or less - prohibition drove out the peaceful, hippy farmers and allowed for violent actors and cartels to move in and the toll that has taken on the community and the dozens of missing and murdered people in what might be one of the most beautiful ares in the US.

no i haven't heard about it yet, thanks for the rec!

That does not surprise me so much in life goes back to money. Thanks for sharing

The real question is how dank is that gas on the black market compared to dispensaries. Cause a nig might have to go exploring sometime heheh.

The prices will probably drop once the industry because better established.

I was just talking to my son about this. I really thought if enough states legalized it , the black market would suffer. I imagine a large part of the price difference is the tax involved maybe?

their goal was to take money away from the black market, thus far they're failing and I suspect they'll continue to fail. If lowering taxes on that item for ex reduced the price and took more business from the black market, seeing as this is their supposed goal, then you'd think they'd consider such a move 😂😂👍 they'd also consider loosening the strict regulations but of course they prefer the opposite which only helps to drive prices up $$

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