{"id":17088,"date":"2017-06-15T05:00:11","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T13:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2017\/06\/15\/cas-legal-weed-market-is-worth-5-billion-theres-a-catch\/"},"modified":"2017-06-15T09:29:41","modified_gmt":"2017-06-15T17:29:41","slug":"cas-legal-weed-market-is-worth-5-billion-theres-a-catch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2017\/06\/15\/cas-legal-weed-market-is-worth-5-billion-theres-a-catch\/","title":{"rendered":"CA\u2019s Legal Weed Market Is Worth $5 billion \u2014\u00a0There\u2019s a Catch"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

California already accounts for roughly a quarter of all legal cannabis sales in the Unite States and is poised to be an economic powerhouse in a decriminalized national industry \u2014 if it can introduce regulation without empowering a new illicit market. By sheer numbers, California is easily the nation\u2019s largest market for legal marijuana \u2014 which means the state is the biggest bonanza for cannabis sales on the planet. Once legal commercial sales of recreational cannabis begin sometime next year, California will play host to a $5 billion legal marijuana market, according to a recently released state-sponsored study from UC Davis. That\u2019s big! Huge, even, when you consider Colorado\u2019s cannabis economy \u2014 as of now the model for the rest of us to follow \u2014 is a \u201cmere\u201d $1.2 billion a year. But! It\u2019ll be even bigger if regulators can figure out how to keep regulations manageable\u00a0and costs low. If they can\u2019t, California will still have a marijuana black market worth billions more \u2014 it currently accounts for about 75 percent of all sales in the state: California rings up about $2 billion in annual legal marijuana sales, which accounts only for roughly 25 percent of the weed bought in the state. The rest, $5.7 billion worth, is all black-market pot. California voters legalized recreational marijuana at the November ballot, but legal sales under Prop. 64 can\u2019t begin until state lawmakers hammer out rules for the industry. That process is currently underway, but according to an early estimate, the cost of state-mandated lab testing and other fees imposed by regulation could run to more than $400 per pound of processed pot. Considering the wholesale price of a pound is $1,500 to $2,000 \u2014 sometimes higher, but quite often much lower \u2014 it\u2019s no surprise that 29 percent of the domestic cannabis market is expected to stay illegal, as per UC Davis\u2019s forecast. \u201cIt\u2019s going to take some time\u201d to convince marijuana users to ditch their dealers and buy a regulated, taxed product, said Lori Ajax, the state\u2019s appointed pot czar, in comments to the LA Times. \u201cWhile it\u2019s unlikely that everyone will come into the regulated market on day one, we plan to continue working with stakeholders as we move forward to increase participation over time.\u201d This same story has played out in other states, including Colorado and Washington, and is being pounced upon by anti-legalization forces as proof that the benefits of legal weed are overblown. Critics also point out that medical cannabis is expected to evaporate. Medical marijuana sales are expected to account for only 9 percent of legal sales.. The US Davis report was released prior to Monday\u2019s most-recent proposal for the state\u2019s marijuana regulations, which would allow for both recreational and medical marijuana to be sold under the same regulatory framework. Medical cannabis patients could still form collectives, but any commercial marijuana sales would require a state license. Since licensed marijuana sellers would have to pay taxes and adhere to quality standards, it is suggested that\u2026
\n
\nRead More: CA\u2019s Legal Weed Market Is Worth billion \u2014\u00a0There\u2019s a Catch<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/body><\/html><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"