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legalization that does not proactively and decisively shift the unlicensed market into the licensed market is not justice, it’s just the creation of a parallel industry with the added protection of politicians, cops, and very wealthy businesspeople
if you make the standard for entering the licensed market impossibly high - which in many ways, MA and the federal government have done - then those actors won’t make the switch. Why would they?!
Legalization’s undeniable value adds - like widespread testing, thoughtful and democratically controlled administration and taking power away from cops - are fucking great. But when weed becomes so tightly controlled - and so scarce in its legal form - it kneecaps people.
The unit economics of selling weed without a license aren’t as high as when you do have a license, but it’s a hell of a lot less overhead and upfront investment. Same with growing and processing it at scale.
Unlicensed weed at scale is cheaper because it’s minus taxes, administrative and compliance fees, minimum wage and benefits, legal fees, licensing fees, testing fees (sometimes), and can be imported from somewhere it’s grown cheaper than here
Licensed weed at scale is expensive in MA. Growers are capped (and indoor grows are FUCKING EXPENSIVE) and retailers are capped. Most manufacturing done in MA happens at a collocated grow as a way to draw value from trim and maintain a full suite of products:
But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible - yet given the heavy cost to do so, why pursue the license at such great financial risk? That’s the question we hope to not ask, because an effective legal framework must lower costs for all entrants, or actually pay for subsidies
It’s wild that the weed I buy from my friends and the weed I buy at some faceless office park MSO are so fucking different in every way but the one that really matters to me, which is “does it get me high and taste good”
