To minimize the prominence and size of the black market, California authorities tripled the number of raids on unlicensed cannabis shops, which resulted in about thirty million dollars in cannabis products. In the first few months alone, there have been 19 obtained search warrants which produced a discovery of 2,500 pounds of illegal cannabis-a $16.5 million worth.
The concept of licensing cannabis shops began in 2018-since then, the state Bureau of Cannabis in partnership with local law enforcement have been able to obtain six search warrants resulting in $13.5 million worth of cannabis. There are still a plethora of illegal cannabis manufacturers in California. Moreover, industry officials thought that the black market would decline with the passing of Proposition 64, which enabled state-licensed firms to grow and sell cannabis for recreational uses.
While the legal cannabis industry is upset with the lack of severity, California officials are hitting the black market; the legal sector has also been taking a hit. Since the bureau is so new and still in the process of creating regulations and procedures for licenses, the number of licenses obtained has been fewer. Furthermore, the incline of state and local taxes has been a setback for the market, along with some cities prohibiting the sale of cannabis as a whole. Despite the bureau being in its first year, it still made significant progress towards diminishing the black market.
Also, the Department of Finance commented on the unsustainable nature of the bureau’s staff in their newly released audit. As of right now, the bureau has 26 of the 68 positions filled. There are reasons for the low staff-the bureau does not take sworn peace officers and relies solely on local law enforcement. Moreover, the legal cannabis industry was upset that the most recent budget from Governor Newsom did not include the $10 million designated to shutting down illegal cannabis businesses.
The main goal is safety. Along with stronger enforcement, there have been education programs. The education programs aim to tell the danger of buying cannabis from illegal businesses due to health hazards. Moreover, the education programs outline the repercussions for participating in the unlawful cannabis business.
Photo by Get Budding
