The ‘black market’ marijuana trade is “booming,” Smart Approaches to Marijuana Director Kevin Sabet said in a TV interview early Tuesday.
“Drug dealers love legalization,” Mr. Sabet said, because “they get to undercut the legal price. The government, in all its wisdom, taxes marijuana to pay for schools.
BTW, it is not paying for any of that because tax revenue is in pennies. Drug dealers will not go to dental school. They diversify, lower prices and still make a hefty profit.”
Mr. Sabet went on to say that he does not “really believe in state’s rights for marijuana because it affects the other states” that did not vote to legalize.
The Boston Herald reported Sunday that “local drug dealers have disappeared in Colorado over the last 5 years, but the underground grow market continues to thrive as traffickers ship illegal marijuana out-of-state.”
Experts in Colorado found that as prices fell in the Rocky Mountain state, so did the sale of illegal marijuana within the State.
“If Massachusetts expects consumers to purchase this in the regulated market, it has to be priced similarly and make it easy to get,” said Denver Marijuana Policy Group founding partner Adam Orens. “You cannot have all these barriers.”
Related Stories
A drug defelonization bill advances in Colorado, marijuana legalization bills advance in Connecticut, Oregon medical marijuana growers are put on notice, and more.
The Colorado legislature is taking up both marijuana expansion and drug possession defelonization in this session.
Colorado Social Consumption, Marijuana Delivery Bills Advance. The House Finance Committee narrowly approved a pair of bills aimed at expanding access to legal marijuana Monday. HB 1230 would require the Marijuana Enforcement Division to create a licensing system for social marijuana consumption, while HB 1234 would allow delivery of medical marijuana only for the 1st year, expanding to the legal adult market in year 2. The social consumption bill now goes to the House Appropriations Committee, while the delivery bill head for a House floor vote.
Connecticut Legalization Bill Package Advances. The Judiciary Committee approved a trio of bills Monday that would legalize marijuana and expunge old pot convictions. SB 1085 is the main legalization bill, while SB 1089 would ensure that employers could mandate marijuana could not be smoked at a workplace and HB 7372 would establish an equivalent of a DUI test for driving under the influence of marijuana.
Medical Marijuana
Missouri Regulators Release Additional Draft Rules. The state Department of Health and Senior Services has released more draft rules for the state’s medical marijuana program. The new draft rules for facility evaluation criteria and medical marijuana testing facilities can be viewed here. Draft rules must be finalized by June 4, 2019
Oregon Medical Marijuana Growers Warned to Report Inventory. The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program has warned medical marijuana growers that they need to come into compliance with inventory reporting requirements or face stiff penalties. The program issued a bulletin reminding growers they need to use the Oregon Medical Marijuana Online System (OMMOS), and that they must report their onsite marijuana inventory and any sales.
Sentencing Policy
Colorado House Panel Advances Drug Defelonization Bill. The House Finance Committee has approved HB19-1263, which would change the penalty for drug possession offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. The bill was approved by the House Judiciary Committee last week. The bill now goes to the House Appropriations Committee.
Permission to Reprint: This article is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license.
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By Phillip Smith
Paul Ebeling, Editor
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