In New York and elsewhere, the illegal pot market is crowding out the legal one
In December 2022, the first licensed sellers of marijuana in New York State opened their doors. That might surprise New Yorkers who saw, to their delight or dismay, hundreds of smoke shops begin selling weed out of neighborhood storefronts last year. These unlicensed, “gray-market” operations may strangle the Empire State’s legal marijuana industry in its crib, thwarting politicians’ ambitions of advancing racial equity via drug legalization.
