Here in cali, dispensaries cannot compete with black market prices. There's a huge hidden tax on top of the advertised tax price--you're paying for the fact that, because cannabis is still federally illegal, business can't deduct most of their operating expenses. For the most part, they pay corporate income tax on the sticker price minus what they paid for it; none of their employee salaries or rent or other operating expenses are deductible.
End result is I can pay $20 for a bag of straight fire from a buddy, or I can pay $40 for a bag of decent shit from the club.
Black market ain't goin anywhere till shit's federally legal.
|