You have raised important real time facts that will impact short term investing decisions. The supply of black market cannabis is certainly a continuing problem for the commercial cannabis industry. However, as more states adopt medical & recreational cannabis use, municipal, state and the federal governments will focus on policing the black market cannabis sector.
Considering potential cannabis market evolution, the hope for cannabis investors is that the U.S. Senate backs the SAFE Banking Act. Declassifying Cannabis as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance and or decriminalizing cannabis nationally would be a seismic event in the evolution of the market.
There is too much money to be had by cash strapped governments of all tiers, for them to ignore leaving 40% of the cannabis market to the black market. 40% represents billion of tax dollars, that governments, the IRS, banks and investors will be clamoring for. In the passage of legal recreational cannabis in Illinois, the law has a provision for some of the tax revenue to be used to weed out black market cannabis producers & sellers, through state and local policing. This will eventually be the focus nationally when cannabis is decriminalized. Black market producers and sellers will be pursued for non payment of taxes, the only way the Feds could get Al Capone in jail!
The vaping deaths certainly has cast a shadow on this industry and the investigation is still ongoing. However, indications are that these tainted vape products are black market products. This fact will eventually help persuade many users to buy the regulated product that can be trusted.
