Roland Wilson: California doesn’t have a black market for weed, but others do

So what was the whole point of legalizing marijuana in California? Was it to ending illegal drug use in California? (That’s not the same as ending “drug abuse,” which is the real problem. But that’s another story.)

The Bee’s headline read “Legalization won’t end California’s enormous black market for weed” (Page 1B, Aug. 6). Actually, legalization did. Did it end illegal marijuana use in other states? Well, no (not exactly, anyway).

So here’s my problem: We, in California, do not have an enormous black market! They do. Granted, we have illegal grows in California, and what is Arizona, Nevada, Washington and Oregon supposed to do about our legalization of pot? It’s our fault. Granted, we have a responsibility to our neighbors. But no, we do not have an “enormous black market.” We have illegal grows of weed.

If stupid people try to solve the wrong problem, great, we get another stupid drug war.

The problem is drug abuse, not drug use. We have too many people trying to cash in on growing something that grows like a “weed” in your back yard (for free). So the fixable problem is illegal pot grows. You want another try at your headline?

This story was originally published August 16, 2017 at 10:29 AM with the headline "Roland Wilson: California doesn’t have a black market for weed, but others do."