Ask the people who grow, manufacture, and sell cannabis about the end of prohibition and you'll hear two stories. One is that legalization is ushering a multibillion-dollar industry into the light. Opportunities are boundless and green-friendly cities like Oakland are going to benefit enormously. There will be thousands of new jobs, millions in new tax revenue, and a drop in crime and incarceration.
But increasingly you'll hear another story. The state of California and the city of Oakland blew it. The new state and city cannabis regulations are too complicated, permits are too difficult and time consuming to obtain, taxes are too high, and commercial real estate is scarce and expensive. As a result, many longtime cannabis entrepreneurs are either giving up or they're burrowing back into the underground economy, out of the taxman's reach, and unfortunately, further away from the social benefits legal pot was supposed to deliver.
Both stories happen to be true.