"As it currently stands, "street product" (even reliable, high-quality, non-dodgy cannabis produced and distributed by professional vendors) is between 1/3 and 1/2 the price of NY State-approved medicinal products, which are limited in their permissible dosing, i.e. THC:CBD product ratios. Does anyone know if or when this discrepancy will improve?"
That is an excellent question. With the taxes in California that have been instituted the added on price of many products is 35-45% higher than it was in 2017. This has obviously led to people looking for "black-market" products to save money. Whether these are being sold in dispensaries that do not have licenses or by your local street corner supplier, they are less expensive then what can be found in licensed locations. the downside of course is that you are not assured of the quality of the product that you are buying.
The state regulators realize that they need to do something to lower the tax burden or the success of legalization will be undone by the higher costs. There is a movement to try and decrease some of the taxes that have been imposed and thereby lower the cost to the consumer.
How long this will actually take is anyone’s guess. I would hope that it happens quickly since people start to form guying habits and without an incentive, will see no reason to purchase their cannabis from a legal location.
Perry Solomon, MD
