Canada’s unregulated weed market is still thriving gloriously even though Canada legalized the use of marijuana for recreational purposes last year.
After Uruguay, Canada is the second country in the world to legalize the use of marijuana for recreational purposes. The law was passed by the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who commented in support of legalizing marijuana,
“It is been too easy for our kids to get marijuana – and for criminals to reap the profits.”
The move was celebrated with sparkling crackers, and teenagers and adults formed huge queues outside the pot shops to celebrate their freedom of using marijuana openly.
However, the celebration did not last for long, given the huge price at which marijuana began selling in the legalized shop. As a result, people resorted to buying marijuana in the black market at a comparatively cheaper price.
According to the figures reported by the Canadian Government, the total sales of legal marijuana should have been close to $1 billion for the first year. However, the scenario is showing different statistics altogether, because of marijuana being sold in the black market where the sale amount has reached to $5 to $7 billion in the illicit market. Accordingly, there are more than 2835 unlicensed dispensaries in Canada as compared to only 873 licensed pot shops.
One of the obvious reasons for this disparity is the difference in cost. Marijuana is sold at a cheaper rate in the illicit markets as compared to the legalized shop, and thus the black market is running gloriously irrespective of the legalization order by the Canadian Government. Another reason may be the scarcity of licensed shops nearby and so people are taking the help of an app called Weedmaps that shows the users the nearest weed dispensaries. Apart from this app, that helps the users with the location of dispensaries, there are websites that guides users about how to use marijuana safely, and what are the regulations that need to be followed while consuming marijuana.
Canadian police are, however, taking action to disrupt the illegal marijuana market and in this connection, Mike Serr, the head of the Association of Police in Canada, commented,
“We haven’t disrupted the black market significantly. If there is a strong, vibrant dark market out there selling illegal drugs, people will go to that and we need to direct then to the legal market.”