Cannabis Customers in Legal Weed States are Still Buying their Product on the Black Market – News

One of the biggest benefits of cannabis legalization is the supposed end to the black market. After all, if legal, regulated pot shops are on block, what need is there for back-alley dealers? Well, according to a new report from the Cannabis Consumers Coalition, that might not yet be the case.

In a survey of daily cannabis users, less than 12% of respondents said they purchase their cannabis from a recreational dispensary. 23% said they cop at medical dispensaries, around 14% said they grow their own and less than 5% rely on independent caregivers. That leaves a whopping 45% who said they still buy their daily bud from black market dealers.

73% of survey-takers reported living in states with some form of legal weed, but the plethora of states with extremely limited medical programs or recreational legalization without a set retail system could speak to the high rates of black market loyalty. For Larisa Bolivar, the executive director of the Cannabis Consumers Coalition, there are a host of factors that lead consumers to stick with their ziploc baggie dealer instead of heading to pot shops.

“There could be a multitude of reasons for this, including price gaps…