The post Is California About To Run Out Of Legal Marijuana? appeared first on High Times.
With California’s legal weed industry officially underway, it should come as little surprise that there have been a few issues surrounding the burgeoning recreational marijuana circuit. With regulations primitive and, frankly, underdeveloped, the state will have their hands full the next few months trying to come up with the perfect cocktail of bylaws to properly serve the plant to its large base of consumers while also appeasing those who are lukewarm on the idea of legal pot. And surprisingly enough, while California remains North America’s largest producer of marijuana, one of the biggest issues facing the legal weed industry is, ironically enough, supply. Which begs the ultimate question: is California about to run out of legal marijuana?
A Potential Pot Shortage
While California’s overall marijuana supply remains as fruitful as ever, the same can’t be said for its legal weed industry, where primordial regulations are hindering growers from receiving the proper licensing and permits to legally grow weed, and in turn, meet the demand of the recreational weed market.
Although California rolled out regulations for adult usage last month, they’ve not been able to keep up with the licensing approval process. In fact, Los Angeles is so far behind that they haven’t even begun to license their dispensaries—let alone the growers who give them the supply. And to make matters worse, L.A. has prioritized the licensing of pre-ICO dispensaries over indoor growers, which could draw out the process even further.
While this might seem like a bizarre turn of events for a state that has been synonymous with cannabis for decades, many in the industry are not all that surprised. In