Editorial: What legalization? California is still the Wild West of illegal marijuana

By THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD / July 15, 2021 / https://www.latimes.com

Nearly five years after Californians voted to create a legal marijuana industry through Proposition 64, the illegal weed market is as big as or even bigger than it was before the ballot measure passed.

The end of prohibition at the state level was supposed to be the beginning of a highly regulated marijuana market served by legitimate, taxpaying companies (even though marijuana remains illegal under federal law). Legalization was billed as a way to tame the Wild West-style marijuana industry, which often flouted environmental and health strictures and was a bastion for organized crime.

It hasn’t worked out that way for a variety of reasons. Nowhere is the failure of Proposition 64 more apparent than in the deserts of Southern California, where a booming illegal marijuana industry has spread across the arid landscape.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

We believe it is possible to change a self-destructive youth culture, but we need you.

American Character Builders is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and is funded entirely by concerned individuals, businesses, churches and civic groups. Due to the nature of American Character Builders’ mission, contributions will NOT knowingly be accepted from entities involved in the manufacture or distribution of alcoholic beverages or tobacco, or from entities involved in gambling activities.