Illegal Cannabis

I was in the city over the weekend for a family event. As I walked through Soho, I noticed a brightly covered open van called Cannastat, a curbside cannabis concierge.

I asked the question that everyone should ask: “Are you legal?” His answer is no, I am legacy. I built the industry in NYC, and everyone built off of me. I suggested that he would eventually get shut down, and he disagreed.

As a legal cannabis dispensary owner, seeing this bright colored van selling to people on the street, packed to the gills with weed from who knows where, pisses me off. The legal business in NY has been far from easy to build, and that there are “legacy” operators blatantly selling on the streets is insulting to all the legal owners who have to follow the OCM guidelines and pay the taxes. Just another daily cog in the wheel.

These “legacy” operators, and I have spoken with others about this, seem justified in continuing to operate as they always have. Perhaps it is because the police have looked the other way for decades, and as legal spots have opened, they still turn a blind eye to the illegal operators.

I feel for the dude, as he did build a business, regardless of being illegal, on the cannabis demand that has always existed in the city. Many of these businesses are doing millions a year in revenue, and since they do not pay taxes and purchase their products from anywhere they please, they are probably running nice businesses.

Sure, they are pissed off because they consider themselves the first to market, aka legacy, but the reality is cannabis is now legal in NYS. They should have attempted to legitimize their businesses. How long does the legal operators who are building businesses at the ground floor with heavy handed regulation and taxes compete when our competition, particularly in the delivery space, is not the other legal shops but the “legacy” illegal businesses that have been operating for years.

These operators are hanging out in full public view, and many of the consumers have no idea that they are illegal. How much longer will this continue? It wouldn’t be that difficult to find all of them and close their shops, but no politician has made it a priority. What are they waiting for?

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