5 ms·

To a point, sure: Tobacco and alcohol are still sold illegally. But most folks buy it from the stores, and if they aren't, adjustments need to be made. Taxation

To a point, sure: Tobacco and alcohol are still sold illegally. But most folks buy it from the stores, and if they aren't, adjustments need to be made. Taxation isn't generally the issue (as alcohol & tobacco are taxed) as long as it is easy to purchase and reasonably priced. The other issue is that there are conflicts between state and federal law. Not being able to bank easily is a major hurdle, and these sorts of things need fixed.

asdff 6y ago
And that's the caveat. The black market still outweighs the legal market because it is difficult to purchase because of the difficulty in opening a legitimate dispensary, and it isn't reasonably priced with a 30% upcharge for taxes. right off the bat the illegal dispensary is 30% cheaper, and that makes a bigger difference in the MJ market where the base cost of the product is much higher than for a $16 bottle of liquor. Even with alcohol and tobacco it is very typical for people living near a state border to buy their product on the side with the more favorable taxes, routinely done even.
- GoOnThenDoTell 6y ago
  It takes time for each successive group of new users to come to market where they weren’t exposed to the black market in the first place, who are averse to unknown quality of the black market
  - asdff 6y ago
    Unless you take the time to look up the license on the state website, there isn't much of a tell that the brick and mortar dispensary, or delivery service dispensary, is operating illegally. Still the same strange security process getting into the building as in a legitimate dispensary, still the same process of getting delivery (sometimes with nice web design to boot) so it certainly passes the smell test. Happen into one of these, and the prices alone will keep you going there rather than a legal dispensary down the road. Not to mention the packaging requirements of legal dispensaries—ask for an oz and you get handed 8 bags in some very annoying 'child proof' ziplocks (I opt to just cut them open with scissors) since they seemingly can't sell larger units than 1/8 oz or 100mg of edibles per package.
- int_19h 6y ago
  When WA legalized weed, prices went down. I don't think you can make broad claims based on one particular implementation that may well be flawed in details.

asdff 6y ago

And that's the caveat. The black market still outweighs the legal market because it is difficult to purchase because of the difficulty in opening a legitimate dispensary, and it isn't reasonably priced with a 30% upcharge for taxes. right off the bat the illegal dispensary is 30% cheaper, and that makes a bigger difference in the MJ market where the base cost of the product is much higher than for a $16 bottle of liquor. Even with alcohol and tobacco it is very typical for people living near a state border to buy their product on the side with the more favorable taxes, routinely done even.

GoOnThenDoTell 6y ago
It takes time for each successive group of new users to come to market where they weren’t exposed to the black market in the first place, who are averse to unknown quality of the black market
- asdff 6y ago
  Unless you take the time to look up the license on the state website, there isn't much of a tell that the brick and mortar dispensary, or delivery service dispensary, is operating illegally. Still the same strange security process getting into the building as in a legitimate dispensary, still the same process of getting delivery (sometimes with nice web design to boot) so it certainly passes the smell test. Happen into one of these, and the prices alone will keep you going there rather than a legal dispensary down the road. Not to mention the packaging requirements of legal dispensaries—ask for an oz and you get handed 8 bags in some very annoying 'child proof' ziplocks (I opt to just cut them open with scissors) since they seemingly can't sell larger units than 1/8 oz or 100mg of edibles per package.
int_19h 6y ago
When WA legalized weed, prices went down. I don't think you can make broad claims based on one particular implementation that may well be flawed in details.