WITH LEGAL MARIJUANA SALES LAGGING, CALIFORNIA WANTS TO PULL TROOPS FROM THE BORDER TO GO AFTER UNLICENSED GROWERS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
by Kevin Ryan
California governor Gavin Newsom is pulling National Guard troops from the U.S.-Mexico border because the state’s legal marijuana industry is having trouble competing with black market growers, and the governor wants to use the troops to shut down the competition.
You can’t make this stuff up.
A new report from California’s “Cannabis Advisory Committee” after the first year of legal pot sales in California says “fragmented and uncoordinated” enforcement has allowed the black market to flourish, threatening licensed business with “unfair competition.”
Legalization did not lead to the demise of illegal pot sales in California. In fact, according to Newsom, “it’s getting worse, not better.” It’s been over a year since recreational marijuana became legal in the state, and illegal pot still accounts for 80% of total sales.
He blames the sluggish growth in the number of state-licensed cannabis businesses on “such a complex regulatory system” and wants to use the National Guard to go after the state’s competitors. Newsom proposes that at least 150 California National Guard troops would be redeployed from the border to focus on shutting down illicit cannabis activity in Northern California.
At stake is millions in tax dollars. Marijuana sales are estimated at $4 billion annually in California, and by legalizing the crop, the state hopes to capture a portion of that to help finance its ever-expanding government.
SOURCES: https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-gavin-newsom-crackdown-pot-black-market-20190219-story.html
https://www.bcc.ca.gov/about_us/documents/cac_annual_report_2018.pdf
by Kevin Ryan
California governor Gavin Newsom is pulling National Guard troops from the U.S.-Mexico border because the state’s legal marijuana industry is having trouble competing with black market growers, and the governor wants to use the troops to shut down the competition.
You can’t make this stuff up.
A new report from California’s “Cannabis Advisory Committee” after the first year of legal pot sales in California says “fragmented and uncoordinated” enforcement has allowed the black market to flourish, threatening licensed business with “unfair competition.”
Legalization did not lead to the demise of illegal pot sales in California. In fact, according to Newsom, “it’s getting worse, not better.” It’s been over a year since recreational marijuana became legal in the state, and illegal pot still accounts for 80% of total sales.
He blames the sluggish growth in the number of state-licensed cannabis businesses on “such a complex regulatory system” and wants to use the National Guard to go after the state’s competitors. Newsom proposes that at least 150 California National Guard troops would be redeployed from the border to focus on shutting down illicit cannabis activity in Northern California.
At stake is millions in tax dollars. Marijuana sales are estimated at $4 billion annually in California, and by legalizing the crop, the state hopes to capture a portion of that to help finance its ever-expanding government.
SOURCES: https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-gavin-newsom-crackdown-pot-black-market-20190219-story.html
https://www.bcc.ca.gov/about_us/documents/cac_annual_report_2018.pdf
