TheHappyVampire
Well-known member
One year of legal pot sales and California doesn't have the bustling industry it expected. Here's why
The legalization of marijuana did not provide a bustling industry California expected. Odd regulations, taxes, and local barriers are probably hindering pot's potential to prosper in the Golden State. Perhaps Governor-elect Gavin Newsome would be willing to ease these burdens on the industry.When Californians voted in 2016 to allow the sale of recreational marijuana, advocates of the move envisioned thousands of pot shops and cannabis farms obtaining state licenses, making the drug easily available to all adults within a short drive.
But as the first year of licensed sales comes to a close, California's legal market hasn't performed as state officials and the cannabis industry had hoped. Retailers and growers say they've been stunted by complex regulations, high taxes and decisions by most cities to ban cannabis shops. At the same time, many residents are going to city halls and courts to fight pot businesses they see as nuisances, and police chiefs are raising concerns about crime triggered by the marijuana trade.
Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, who played a large role in the legalization of cannabis, will inherit the numerous challenges when he takes office in January as legislators hope to send him a raft of bills next year to provide banking for the pot industry, ease the tax burden on retailers and crack down on sales to minors.