The fuzzy math of tracing dark weed
Plus some recommended reading
We want to paint you a fuller picture of the thriving, illegal cannabis market in our fair state and its costly implications for hard-pressed legal weed businesses.
We should preface this discussion with damning findings from the Washington State Auditor’s office. In short, they revealed the elaborate tracking system the state built to track cannabis in the legal market from seed to sale is, for lack of a better term, broken. The system’s gaping holes included everything from misplaced decimals to compiling inaccurate data, per the report.
The Auditor’s Office attributed the system’s gaping holes to high turnover among leadership at the Liquor and Cannabis Board which manages it. The LCB says it probably won’t be slapping together a more robust tracking system until 2031 at the very earliest.
It’s been widely reported that the black market for pot is alive and well, even in states like ours that legalized it across the board. Why? Money.
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