While there has been a significant push to legalize cannabis across the country, some states lag behind the relaxed laws of California. Even though it is possible to buy some of the leading brands of marijuana off the shelves of CA, such as Bordeaux cannabis, the same cannot be said of other states, such as New York. Therefore, how is it possible that Bordeaux cannabis can be found on the shelves of speakeasies across the country?
The answer is that people are still breaking the law. While California supposedly has a strict system, people are still diverting millions of pounds of cannabis grown legally in California to markets across the country, including those in New York. Now, a recent lawsuit alleges that this is not only happening but that the authorities do not care. The lawsuit alleges that because the authorities are not taking this issue seriously, they are threatening the security of the entire experiment of marijuana legalization.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit allege that criminals are raking in massive profits as people pay a premium for marijuana in areas outside of California. This means that legitimate cannabis businesses in California are suffering. The lawsuit also says that conversations happen constantly among industry professionals, but nobody has spoken up in a court of law until then. It appears to be the worst-kept secret in the industry, and nobody in a position of power appears to be doing anything about it.
Of note, the lawsuit is not seeking any monetary damages. Instead, the lawsuit seeks to force authorities in the state to regulate this issue for the first time. The lawsuit is asking the court to compel the state to make a bigger effort to shut down the alleged illegal distribution network of cannabis across the country.
Specifically, the lawsuit wants authorities to target straw man operations, which are “burner” distributors, who are responsible for moving cannabis from legal markets to illegal markets. The lawsuit says that this should not be happening, but that it is, and that the authorities are not making a good-faith effort to stop it. It will be interesting to see how the lawsuit plays out in court and what its impact might be on the cannabis industry.
