In both cases, it is political incompetence, intransigence and anti-cannabis phobias that are handicapping the growth of the legal cannabis industry. Two California cannabis companies have become the latest to announce staff layoffs.
CannaCraft and Grupo Flor both told Marijuana Business Daily they undertook cost-saving layoffs as a result of financial challenges, which along with previous downsizing disclosures by other cannabis firms might suggest larger underlying financial issues for the industry as a whole. [emphasis mine]
“Might suggest larger underlying financial issues for the industry”? Might suggest?
California’s cannabis black market has grown larger since the state fully legalized cannabis. It takes above-average political incompetence to fail this miserably.
And any political assembly that didn’t have their heads firmly lodged up their collective asses could have seen this coming.
Because of its friendly climate for agriculture, California has always been a primary (black market) source for cannabis – across the U.S. Full cannabis legalization actually makes it easier for black market operations because (in many cases) they can now hide-in-plain-sight.
California’s voters demanded the full legalization of cannabis. California’s politicians proceeded to tie both hands behind the backs of legal cannabis companies.
- The state heaps numerous punitive taxes and fees and legal cannabis companies.
- California’s labyrinth of regulations are baffling and frustrating cannabis entrepreneurs that want to enter the legal industry.
A CBS News article (“60 Minutes”) dug deep into California’s cannabis industry. It documented the excessive expenses and frustration experienced by a (former) black market cultivator attempting to become part of the legal industry.
60 Minutes reported on how California’s cannabis black market has grown larger since cannabis was legalizing fully legalized at the start of 2018. Ironically, the legal cannabis industry actually shrunk in 2018.
60 Minutes also noted the complete futility of the State’s new War-on-Drugs style law enforcement campaign targeting California’s cannabis black market.
Sharyn Alfonsi: So what happens, if the National Guard shows up and here come the helicopters descending on the hills of the Emerald Triangle?
Casey O'Neill: It's the same as it ever was--
Sharyn Alfonsi: What happens six months later?
Casey O'Neill: What happens the day after they leave? People replant.
Casey O'Neill may be right. Six weeks after that raid we went on, cops went back to the exact spot and found 1,100 brand new marijuana plants.
Casey O'Neill: It's the same as it ever was--
Sharyn Alfonsi: What happens six months later?
Casey O'Neill: What happens the day after they leave? People replant.
Casey O'Neill may be right. Six weeks after that raid we went on, cops went back to the exact spot and found 1,100 brand new marijuana plants.
Whack-a-mole. This is neither an effective nor responsible use of taxpayer dollars.
Colorado has reaped more than $1 billion in taxes from its well-regulated legal cannabis industry. Its strong-and-healthy cannabis industry is phasing out the black market on its own.
Conversely, while California attacks its cannabis black market with expensive and heavy-handed law enforcement operations, the politicians are killing the legal cannabis industry with administrative stupidity.
Want to take a real bite out of the black market? Mandate that local governments in California embrace legalization.
Currently, 75% of California’s cities/counties ban legal cannabis stores. These local politicians pretend that they are “banning cannabis”.
This is absurd. They don’t have that choice.
The only choice open to local governments is whether to embrace legalized cannabis or to support the black market. Period.
Three-quarters of California’s local governments have foolishly chosen to support the cannabis black market. This is because the State government lacked the political courage to take this decision out of their hands.
Now California’s taxpayers pay the price through wasting countless millions of tax dollars in futile law enforcement operations. They lose a second time through the lack of cannabis tax dollars, which they would have netted from a healthy legal industry.
California’s legal cannabis industry is paying the price, as noted above.
The victims of vaping-related illnesses are also paying a (heavy) price. California is the nexus for the production of black market cannabis vaping products in the United States that are causing these illnesses and deaths.
The only people who have not “paid a price” (so far) are the idiots in Sacramento.