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Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Nope. But I was skeptical that it would eliminate the black market in pot. And I’ve been proven right about that.
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No one said it would completely eliminate the black market for pot. People said it would reduce black market sales and the revenue pot provided for organized crime.
Lo and behold:
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One year after legalization, 52% of Canadians obtain (at least some of) their cannabis from a legal source (compared to 22% prior to legalization). However, it seems that Canadians are still obtaining their cannabis from the black market. In the third quarter of 2019, results from the National Cannabis Survey show that 42% of Canadians had purchased cannabis from an illegal source
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Most of the issues preventing a further decrease in black market sales were also predicted by the pro-legalization folks:
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Consumers are turning to the black market for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to: higher prices, limited selection, and a scarcity of licensed stores in their area. According to Statistics Canada a gram of legal cannabis costs 55 per cent more than illicit cannabis ($10.30/gram vs. $5.73/gram).
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It should be noted that purchasing weed from the black market doesn't necessarily equate to purchasing from organized crime. It's likely that people are buying directly from growers who simply don't have a license.