18 Percent of Cannabis Users In CA Buy From The Black Market
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So one in five Californians that uses marijuana still uses their good old drug dealer versus going to a legal dispensary in California.
So what is it that has Californians not using their local dispensaries and seeking alternate means of procuring their cannabis? Some of this resistance seems to stem from the high tax rate on cannabis where your good old weed dealer acts like the tax-free shop at the airport. There also seems to be a lack of legal dispensaries and some delays in local licensing that seems to make the whole situation worse.
Some Statistics On Black Market Consumption Of Marijuana In California
A study that was published by Eaze based on surveys that were conducted July 6 and the 12th of this year shows that 1 in 5 Californians that consume cannabis are buying on the black market. This was based on their buying habits in the last 3 months. the study was compiled using 1750 online surveys from California, Colorado as well as Eaze cannabis consumers.
Some Take-Aways Based On The Survey:
It would seem that individuals that have once purchased marijuana on the black market would do so again to the tune of 84 percent would be repeat offenders.- 23 percent say that California’s tax rate on cannabis is to blame and if there were a reduction of about 5 percent in this tax it would drive them to buy marijuana from legal cannabis dispensaries.
- 84 percent of consumers that are using licensed dispensaries report they are very satisfied with the legal market.
- 85 percent of consumers according to the survey are highly satisfied with product labeling of edibles as well as other marijuana products. 75 percent stated that they were also satisfied with current levels of product testing.
- 90 percent of consumers in California state that they have some sort of medical use for cannabis.
- Another interesting statistic this survey showed is that southern Californians are more likely to buy off the black market then their northern counterparts by 5 percent ( southern Cali 21%, Northern Cali 16%).
Whats The Take Away From All This?
Of course, this is just our opinion but we believe there will always be some sort of illicit or black market for cannabis just like some people will homebrew and sell it without a license. Personally, I think most users will adopt legal dispensaries for their needs as time goes on and more and more local dispensaries pop up. California just like other states that have gone the legal route is suffering from licensing delays, overtaxing of the product as well as bans in certain towns. All of this has an effect on the black market as a viable option to buy marijuana.
Once More & More States Adopt Legalization
More and more states are already allowing some form of marijuana consumption be it medical, recreational or both this is still in its infancy and until we have a federal change in thought on this natural remedy to so many things I would suspect it will stay this way. However, once we get farther down the road I think more and more states will see the reasoning in using control versus banning the use of the plant.
Benefits of legalization & Buying From A Legal Source
- As we move towards legalization of better testing of cannabis and its benefits will become available
- The impact on users will lessen as the criminal element is removed from usage. This should put more productive citizens in the workplace
- The industry will only truly stabilize once Federal Bans and declassification have been achieved.
- Buying from a legal source brings benefits like quality control and proper labeling as well as dosage information on what a user consumes.
- Buying legally gives you the peace of mind of not having to deal with any shady characters or nefarious business practices.
- More and more studies will be done on the beneficial effects of marijuana as we march towards full legalization.
- Marijuana will replace some of the more expensive medicines as well as medicines with adverse side effects. We already have the first marijuana-based FDA approved medicine already.
We are always curious to hear others opinion on the subject so if you have anything to add to this topic please contact us!
