To the editor: Your series on the effects of California legalizing recreational marijuana in 2016 missed one of the biggest points of all — continued federal prohibition.
California has always produced far more cannabis than Californians consume. Oregon as well. That’s because these are export markets. Legalizing weed in California only legalized the in-state part of the business, which was less than 25%.
Until the federal government legalizes cannabis, there will still be incentive for illegal cultivation. Until California can enter into interstate commerce agreements to legally ship licensed cannabis across state lines, legal businesses will continue to fail, the illegal grows will continue to thrive, and so will the corruption and bad actors.
Your coverage was certainly sensational, but place the actual blame where it belongs: the federal government’s outdated policy.
Angela Bacca, Lompoc
Bacca is a writer and editor focusing on marijuana policy and commerce.
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To the editor: In an effort to get as many people as possible to vote for legalization in 2016, Proposition 64 tried to please everyone.
The initiative banned larger, corporate marijuana farms as a means of protecting small family growers. This policy has not worked, and family farms are failing anyway because of denied access to the legal market through limited licensing and competition from unlicensed grows.
If big players were to establish massive cannabis farms, prices would drop and the illegal grows…