As NC considers legalizing marijuana, black market still exists in states where it's legal
A majority of North Carolina voters support the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana use, according to a poll released by WRAL News.
Posted — UpdatedWRAL News and SurveyUSA published a scientific poll earlier this month that found most North Carolina voters believe medical and recreational marijuana should be legalized in the state.
SurveyUSA randomly selected 2,500 North Carolina adults from April 6-10, of which 2,068 are registered to vote in the state. The group conducted the interviews in several regions of North Carolina, including Charlotte and west, the Greensboro area, the Raleigh area, southern and coastal communities. Lucid Holdings LLC of New Orleans selected a random sample of participants.
Lawmakers could resume consideration of the legislation when they convene on May 18. The legislature is then set to adjourn on June 30.
SB 711 would let doctors prescribe marijuana for the following conditions:
- Cancer
- Epilepsy
- HIV/AIDS
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Crohn's disease
- Sickle cell anemia
- Parkinson's disease
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Multiple sclerosis
- Cachexia or wasting syndrome
- Severe or persistent nausea "related to end-of-life or hospice care," or in someone who is bedridden or homebound
- A terminal illness when the patient's remaining life expectancy is less than six months
- Any condition when the patient is in hospice care
North Carolina is one of 13 states that hasn’t legalized marijuana in one way or another.
In Portland, Oregon, buying marijuana is easy as buying a six-pack. In the Pacific Northwest, dispensaries look more like Apple stores than Circle K.
In Virginia, marijuana will be legal by the summer and sold in stores for recreational use by 2024. Virginia is set to become the 19th state to fully legalize it.
Examining the impacts of legalizing marijuana
There are several concerns whether you’re a proponent of decriminalizing marijuana, authorizing it for medical use or legalizing it.
Concerns include potential crime, impaired driving, traffic crashes, kids and their usage.
There’s also the impact on “moral fiber” of a state with deeply-rooted values that have not included drugs. However, it does include alcohol, cigarettes and whatever they put in Chick-fil-A.
States like Colorado have dealt with how to legalize and regulate marijuana for more than 20 years. WRAL News reached out to Colorado Department of Justice Research Director Jack Reed.
“I think that, honestly, from a crime point of view, one thing that I think many people thought would happen would be an elimination of the black market, and that really did not happen,” Reed said.
In many states where marijuana has become legal, the black market has grown. There are several reasons why.
Consider these questions:
- Have you ever smoked weed in your life or been around it?
- If so, where did you get it?
- Did you get it from a millionaire businessman?... Because in states where marijuana is legal, that’s who is selling it.
The red tape can be complex and expensive from packaging to the kinds of pesticides you can use on your crop.
Colorado collects 2.9% on marijuana sold in stores, 15% in retail sale tax an another 15% in excise tax. Colorado lawmakers are considering legislation that would increase the exise tax to 25%.
In 2021, Colorado sold more than $2 billion of marijuana through November and the state raked in $423 million.
Legal marijuana is much more expensive to sell, and the drug dealers who sold dime bags to college students didn’t pivot into the private sector. Instead, they shifted their business to find the demand.
Nearly three-fourths of the country have either completely legalized marijuana or legalized the usage of medical marijuana. In those states, illegal weed is still being sold and grown to states like North Carolina because legal weed can’t cross state lines.
The economics are really quite simple – but – for one reason or another – lawmakers didn’t see this coming. It’s a lesson they learned for us – as we consider what to do – and how to do it. There’s still a lots to learn from the states charting this uncharted territory.
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