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→
Over 30 illegal weed shops surround single legal cannabis dispensary in this popular NYC neighborhood — causing haziness among ‘confused’ customers January 12, 2024 AggregatedNews New York 0 Comments More than 30 unregulated weed vendors surround a licensed cannabis dispensary in the Lower East Side — smoking out its business as “confused” customers struggle to differentiate between the two. The plight of ConBud, which opened in October on Delancey… 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→
New York cracks down on unlicensed pot shops, but closing them might take time June 28, 2023 AggregatedNews New York 0 Comments NEW YORK (AP) — Fed up with hundreds of bootleg pot shops, New York launched new inspections this month aimed at getting rid of the unlicensed stores that are troubling the state’s fledgling legal marijuana market. “You will be caught,” the governor… Read More→
Legal Marijuana Still Faces High Hurdles in New York October 24, 2022 AggregatedNews Black Market, New York 0 Comments New York’s optimism is fading Just outside the Luxury Meets Cannabis Conference in New York City last Thursday, where a well-coiffed crowd in designer clothes sampled artisanal hemp beverages and checked out discreet packaging for hash pre-rolls, stores openly sold… Read More→
The reality of legal weed in California: Huge illegal grows, violence, worker exploitation and deaths September 9, 2022 AggregatedNews California 0 Comments At sunset from atop Haystack Butte, the desert floor below shimmers with a thousand lights. Illegal cannabis farms. At this hour and distance, serene hues cloak the rugged enclave of Mount Shasta Vista, a tense collective of seasonal camps guarded… Read More→
NYPD tows marijuana trucks from Times Square as weed sellers shell out $200K in parking fines August 18, 2022 AggregatedNews New York 0 Comments Times Square’s marijuana truck business is going up in smoke thanks to city government weed whackers. The NYPD seized 19 brightly-colored trucks and buses found selling cannabis-laced edibles without proper permits at the Crossroads of the World on Tuesday —… Read More→
NYC Mayor Adams vows to not be ‘heavy-handed’ on illicit weed sales: ‘Enjoy yourself, light up’ June 4, 2022 AggregatedNews Black Market, New York 0 Comments It’s a green new day for weed dealers in the Big Apple. Mayor Adams promised Friday to not take a “heavy-handed” approach toward those who sell marijuana illicitly in the city and gave New Yorkers his blessing to smoke more… Read More→
NY Senate passes bill to crack down on illicit cannabis possession and sales June 4, 2022 AggregatedNews New York 0 Comments State senators this week passed a bill that would expand authority for the New York Office of Cannabis Management to seize illicit marijuana and for the state Department of Taxation and Finance to penalize people allegedly selling weed illegally. The… Read More→
New York’s Weed Rush Is Here. They Came to Cash In. June 1, 2022 AggregatedNews Black Market, News & Insights 0 Comments For generations, entrepreneurs and dreamers have moved to New York City to strike it big. Now they’re coming to sell a lot of cannabis. S. was 30 and C. was 22 when they first met — at a focus group… Read More→
Law enforcement officers conduct massive raid of black market marijuana, issue arrest warrants February 22, 2022 AggregatedNews Oklahoma 0 Comments Oklahoma drug enforcement officers conducted a massive raid of nine marijuana grow operations across the state early Tuesday, targeting criminal organizations that are believed to have transported black market cannabis out of state. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics led the multi-agency operation… Read More→
‘There’s No Rules Right Now’: Inside Oklahoma’s Surprising Weed Crackdown November 12, 2021 AggregatedNews Black Market, Oklahoma 0 Comments In a deep-red state that became the nation’s hottest marijuana market, keeping regulations to a minimum didn’t keep the bad guys out. LOVE COUNTY, Okla. — Shortly after sunrise on July 22, a dozen or so police officers from across… Read More→
California legalized weed five years ago. Why is the illicit market still thriving? November 2, 2021 AggregatedNews Black Market, California 0 Comments ive years after cannabis legalization, California is awash with signs of an apparently booming industry. Californians can toke on Justin Bieber-branded joints and ash their blunts in Seth Rogen’s $95 ceramics. They can sip on THC-infused seltzers, relax inside a… Read More→
California’s legal weed industry can’t compete with illicit market October 24, 2021 AggregatedNews California 0 Comments Local government opposition, high taxes and competition from unlicensed businesses are complicating the state's push to build a thriving legal market. LOS ANGELES — California’s cannabis market is booming nearly five years after voters legalized recreational weed. But there’s a… Read More→
21 indicted in Colorado in connection with international black market marijuana and money laundering scheme June 11, 2021 AggregatedNews Black Market, News & Insights 0 Comments Charges range from racketeering, conspiracy and money laundering to drug cultivation and distribution Federal and local law enforcement on Thursday announced the takedown of a black market marijuana and money laundering scheme in Colorado — an operation comprising 21 individuals… Read More→