Cannabis appears to be everywhere in New York, five years after it was legalized. However, business owners report that many legitimate businesses are struggling, owing partly to a growing grey market and the US cannabis industry’s confusing legal position. If you’ve lately been to New York, you’ve probably noticed something. Advertisements outside bodegas include vivid green flowers, higher-end dispensaries resembling coffee shops or electronics stores welcome consumers from all over the world, and, of course, there’s the scent, which appears to be omnipresent, prompting even US Open tennis players to complain.
Weed is everywhere. From the outside, it appears to be a free-for-all, with skepticism coming from even those who broadly favor the legalization’s goals, such as minimizing harm and increasing tax revenue. Social media is awash with complaints (typical comments include “New York could not have screwed up legal weed any worse!”), and for years, the local press has been charting the growth of the “weed bodega” – often a corner business selling items of questionable origin. Weed usage has surged across the country, although studies show that the rate of use among young people has gradually decreased since the turn of the century.
Things may have reached a boiling point lately when the New York Times, a former backer of legal marijuana, published an editorial headed “Marijuana Is Everywhere.” “That is a problem.” The newspaper now claims that “marijuana is causing more harm than predicted” and advocates for stricter regulations.
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