The California industry considers the illegal market its toughest competitor. With consumers paying 40% or more in tax, folks have little reason to give up “their guy.” Meanwhile, illegal farms remain a menace to their communities.
Gov. Gavin Newsom responded this month with news of a crackdown. He’s converting California’s multi-decade, seasonal law enforcement task force, Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), into the year-round Eradication and Prevention Of Illicit Cannabis (EPIC). It will target illegal grows and the criminal networks underlying them.
The industry response was mixed. Companies need the illegal market to wane, but many don’t want to see more money supporting law enforcement efforts to prosecute the plant. They’d rather see taxes lowered to make the illegal market less profitable.
In other news: The California Cannabis Industry Association published a white paper warning about the dangers of a “national, unregulated, hemp-derived, intoxicating cannabinoid market.” The industry awaits a paper on the matter from the Department of Cannabis Control.
Called “Pandora’s Box,” the CCIA paper’s arguments include:
- Hemp manufacturers are producing “novel, synthetic cannabinoids many times stronger than THC.”
- Intoxicating, unregulated hemp products are “rife with contaminants, inaccurately labeled and brazenly marketed to children.”
PLUS: Snoop Dogg, in partnership with Tsumo, released Snazzle Os infused onion rings.
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By Alex Halperin, Editor and Publisher WeedWeek
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