Black market boom lays bare a social divide in Colorado’s marijuana market
Nascent cannabis industry splits between wealthy with clean criminal records and those who turn to less than legal methods
Guardian Weekly (UK)/Washington Post (US)
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
That the black market in Colorado bustles in the emerging days of legalisation is not unexpected. By some reckonings, it will continue as long as residents of other states look to Colorado as the nation’s cannabis cookie jar. And as long as its legal retail competition keeps prices high and is taxed at rates surpassing 30%. “I don’t know who is buying for recreational use at dispensaries unless it’s white, middle-class people and out-of-towners,” said a longtime community activist. “Everyone I know still has the guy on the street that they hook up with.”
tags:
