I’ve heard this explained as a taxation issue. That the state adds SO MUCH tax to the sale that the black market has set up a cheaper alternative.
I’ve heard the same thing.
It seems accurate.
In the end the black market will undercut the states anyway.
They’ll find a way. Look at the street number gambling. They pay a little more than the state if you hit and they’ll extend credit.
The black market will find a way. IMO weed should not have been legalized as much as decriminalized. The states should not be selling rec drugs and people should not become criminals for using it.
It is not just the taxes—it is also the regulations.
The current version of “legalization” is a joke—a bureaucratic and taxation nightmare never proposed by libertarians anywhere.
It is like the joke about how the camel is a horse made by a committee.
The licenses to sell could have been cheap and easy—low barriers to entry.
The taxes could have been very low.
But—that is not the kleptocracy way.