Hochul Pushes for Cannabis Crackdown to Get ‘Some Teeth’ February 28, 2024 AggregatedNews Black Market, New York 0 Comments Legal retailers are struggling to get their footing in the face of a much larger illicit market. Gov. Kathy Hochul visited New York City on Wednesday to drum up support for her latest proposals for shutting down the unlicensed marijuana… Read More→
California Cities: Prohibition Doesn’t Work February 26, 2024 AggregatedNews Black Market, California 0 Comments By Griffen Thorne, Attorney at Harris Sliwoski California has a population of nearly 40 million, six years of cannabis licensing, but only has about 1,200 licensed dispensaries. These stores are mostly spread out in highly populated areas like Los Angeles,… Read More→
Grown in Oklahoma, Smoked in New York: Illicit Marijuana’s Legal Roots February 24, 2024 AggregatedNews Black Market, New York, Oklahoma 0 Comments In the dead of night last April, state drug agents in Oklahoma intercepted an 18-wheeler rumbling east toward the Arkansas border smuggling 7,000 pounds of marijuana hidden in security camera boxes. The weed was from licensed farms in Oklahoma, according… Read More→
California Gives Up on the Illegal Cannabis Market: Another Update February 7, 2024 AggregatedNews Black Market, California 0 Comments By Griffen Thorne, Attorney at Harris Sliwoski, California publishes quarterly data concerning its “enforcement” efforts against the illegal cannabis market. Over the last couple of quarters, I’ve gotten in the habit of analyzing this data (see here for Q3 2023, and here for… Read More→
In Southern Oregon, Illegal Cannabis Has Overwhelmed the Legal Industry December 21, 2023 AggregatedNews Black Market, Oregon 0 Comments To residents of Cave Junction, the legacy of legal weed is a pattern of extraction and exploitation that recalls the boom years of the timber industry. But this time, the exploiters are criminal enterprises. The nerve center of Oregon’s largest… Read More→
Stiiizy tries to silence explosive LA Times investigation December 13, 2023 AggregatedNews Black Market, California, News & Insights, Retail 0 Comments One of the largest cannabis retail chains in California threatened to sue the Los Angeles Times for defamation for publishing a story regarding alleged ties between the company and illegal cannabis sales. The story, published Tuesday, found that holding companies owned by Tony Huang,… Read More→
Spain’s confusing cannabis policies spark similar problems faced by U.S. states November 12, 2023 AggregatedNews Black Market, Spain 0 Comments Legal confusion over the drug’s status in regions like Catalonia and open European borders are allowing the illicit market to flourish. BARCELONA — The cannabis cafe in Barcelona’s hip El Poblenou neighborhood could easily be a coffee shop in Brooklyn… Read More→
Authorities bust $36.9 million illegal marijuana warehouse in Oakland October 3, 2023 AggregatedNews Black Market, California 1 Comment Law enforcement busted a massive illegal cannabis grow in Oakland last week, finding an estimated $36.9 million worth of cannabis in an unlicensed facility. In total, an operation led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife found 41,082 cannabis plants and 1,841 pounds… Read More→
Manhattan Cannabis Chain Raided by Police and State Agents July 11, 2023 AggregatedNews Black Market, New York 1 Comment Empire Cannabis Club is the target of stepped-up state efforts to crack down on unlicensed shops. New York Police Department officers and state tax agents raided one Manhattan dispensary and were thwarted from raiding another on Tuesday in an exercise… Read More→
California Gives Up on the Illegal Cannabis Market July 10, 2023 AggregatedNews Black Market, California 0 Comments California has the biggest legal cannabis market in the world – it’s a larger economy than some small nations. But while the Golden State’s regulated market is massive, it’s illegal market is far bigger. California has a big illegal cannabis market problem… Read More→
Catalonia cracks down on booming marijuana industry June 28, 2023 AggregatedNews Black Market, Spain 0 Comments BARCELONA, June 28 (Reuters) - Heavily-armed police officers arrived in a well-to-do Barcelona suburb before dawn to raid a two-storey house that turned out to be packed with 800 marijuana plants growing under powerful lamps. The recent raid, on which… Read More→
Illegal Cannabis Is Making California’s Water Problems Worse May 8, 2023 AggregatedNews Black Market, California 0 Comments Running dry California’s stubbornly persistent illegal cannabis industry isn’t just undercutting the legal market — it’s also behind some of the world’s most blatant water theft. The state’s estimated $8 billion underground marijuana industry consumes staggering volumes of the precious… Read More→
‘Perfect storm’: Illegal California pot keeps showing up in New York April 5, 2023 AggregatedNews Black Market, News & Insights 0 Comments It’s never been easier to buy California weed in New York. Pot stores across New York City are filled with cannabis grown in California, according to SFGATE interviews and other press reports. There’s just one problem — it’s illegal to… Read More→
Gov. Hochul calls for bigger fines against unlicensed weed shops March 22, 2023 AggregatedNews Black Market, New York 0 Comments New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing steep fines for stores selling weed without a license. The move comes as pressure builds to crack down on unlicensed cannabis shops – something other city and state officials have struggled to do… Read More→
Marijuana Enforcement Leader Reveals Who Runs Illegal Grow Operations In Southern California March 3, 2023 Rob Meagher Black Market, California 0 Comments About 85% of illegal weed farmers are Chinese or Mexican nationals in San Bernardino County, task force sergeant says Chinese and Mexican nationals operate almost all illegal marijuana growing operations in the United States' largest county, the leader of a… Read More→