A while back, I wrote that New Jersey’s proposed tax on marijuana sales — at $42 an ounce — was too high and I predicted that would result in people buying cheaper black-market pot.
People wrote to me to say I was nuts because consumers would want the better quality pot that was being sold by legally sanctioned distributors.
Well, New Jersey has delayed pot sales. But Canada, where recreational marijuana has been legalized, is confirming that what I suggested about the weed business is true.
Legal pot in Canada is 57 percent more expensive than the stuff sold by street dealers. As a result, the government reports that $5 billion worth of pot was purchased on the black market and only $2 billion from legal dealers since legalization took place.