When the state legalized the recreational use of marijuana, it was supposed to shrink the state’s illicit cannabis trade. But California’s marijuana black market continues to be larger than the legal one. Weedmaps is sometimes blamed for this. The online marketplace connects cannabis customers with dispensaries and delivery services. The state accuses Weedmaps of selling ads to illegal pot shops. And the Bureau of Cannabis Control has sent it a cease and desist order. Weedmaps promises it will have black market vendors off its site by the end of the year.
Weedmaps CEO on Efforts to Remove Black Market Dispensaries
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California says revenue from marijuana sales has risen — but analysts say the illegal market is still thriving. Here, an employee puts down an eighth (one-eighth of an ounce) of marijuana after letting a customer smell it at the Magnolia cannabis lounge in Oakland. (Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters)
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