Insufficient Access to Licensed Cannabis Encourages Illegal Sales
Just because cannabis is legal to consume, doesn’t mean all consumers have access to legal cannabis!
A majority of California cities and counties still prohibit licensed cannabis retail sales, further facilitating an illegal market that has no regard for consumer and community safety.
Even in many areas where retail is allowed, there remain too few stores for consumers. In the same way that too few grocery stores create ‘food deserts’ where people lack access to a healthy diet, too few cannabis retailers create ‘cannabis deserts’ where consumers lack access to legal cannabis
Convenience is a key driver influencing consumer purchasing behavior. For Californians who do not have convenient access to licensed cannabis retailers, the illegal market remains the easier, and sometimes the only, option.
Supporting local permitting and transitioning businesses that operate illegally into a regulated, legal market is a large effort that requires an encompassing approach — state, local and industry leaders, as well as consumers, all have important roles to play.
One of the first steps in addressing this issue is to educate, and motivate, existing consumers to shop exclusively at licensed cannabis retail locations.