Despite efforts to crack down on black market pot, illegal weed is flourishing in California, because there's not enough enforcement, according to a state audit.
In the first of 2019, the state's Bureau of Cannabis Control confiscated 2,500 pounds of illegal marijuana, worth $16.5 million. But that's just a fraction of the size of the illegal cannabis industry, which is worth an estimated $3.7 billion or four times the size of the legal market. Recreational marijuana sales began in 2018 in California.
In another attempt to curtail illicit activity, Governor Gavin Newsom approved fines this month of up to $30,000 per day on unlicensed growers and sellers.
The audit from the Finance Department, however, said the Cannabis Bureau doesn't have a big enough staff to combat the rampant violations.
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It also doesn't help that it's easy for illegitimate pot shops to advertise to consumers.
But untested products aren't just cutting into the legal market established by the state. They can be dangerous as well, according to Alex Traverso, a spokesman for the Cannabis Bureau.
"You get what you pay for," he said. "If you go into a shop and say 'Hey, the product I like is cheaper here,' you don't know if it's the product you like. It could be a counterfeit product, and it probably has not gone through testing, so you don't know what you're ingesting."
Last month the state launched a marketing campaign to steer customers away from untested products and unlicensed shops. Ads on YouTube and on billboards warn of toxic chemicals and mold that may be in untested products.
"The more of an impact we can have on that illegal market and the more people we get into the legal market, you're going to see the prices at the legal shops start to come down," Traverso said. "That's because we'll have more licensed operators, the illegal market will be diminished, people will be shopping where they need to shop."
Consumers can go to capotcheck.com to see whether their favorite shop is on the up and up.