You trust your local dispensary or your “guy” – but do you know about the marijuana?
Legalization continues to march across the US. Currently, over 50% of citizens have access to approved recreational marijuana and more for medical marijuana. Even in Florida, the DeSantis nanny state, citizens are balking at his cannabis restrictions with over 70% supporting the industry being expanded and available to more people. But do you know where your weed comes from?
A key consumer benefit from federal legalization is the tracking and security of weed and products. Like canned tuna, In-N-Out Burgers, and Stoli Vodka, consumers will not have a worry about how their weed was grown and what was in it – and who is behind it.
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Two big concerns now is the unlicensed dispensaries in NYC and China’s muscling into the US black market. Both are reasons to be careful if you aren’t buying from a legal dispensary.
Mexican cartels have long been the villain of the US drug trade, but with consumer spending soaring, Chinese investors have become the funder and producer of the illegal marijuana production.
From interviews with state law enforcement officials, experts on the international drug trade, economists and lawmakers it seems the number of farms funded by sources traceable back to Chinese investors or owners has skyrocketed. Chinese owners and workers have become a larger presence at illegal grows in Oklahoma, California and Oregon
In Oklahoma, over 40% of licensed marijuana farms have been flagged for suspicious activity by law enforcement over the last year. They. are now being investigated for obtaining their licenses fraudulently and/or for selling into the illicit market, according to Mark Woodward, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.
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The major issue is New York City’s unlicensed dispensaries. The NY market is significant and retailers are thought to have almost $500 million in products which are being flipped. It is believed many of these products have fake labeling claiming what is in the product OR are real products illegally shipped from California or other states.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, with an eye on the national stage, has signed a series of laws with the hope of cleaning up some of the state’s mess around the cannabis market. The primary issues is over taxation and zero enforcement of illicit grows. Legal organization have suffered as the states asks for more and more and the black market has boomed.
Do you know where your weed comes from – is it safe, does it support small business and it is the dosage it claims?
