According to economists, Dr. Robin Goldstein and Professor Daniel Sumner, legal weed presents an economic conundrum—while nearly 40% of Americans can walk into a store today to purchase weed legally, why do many still buy it illegally?

Across North America, legal weed consumers face high prices and not enough retailers, while the predicted windfall of tax revenue has been muted. On the business side, investors are reeling, companies have shut down, and farms have failed. Many of the grandiose early promises of legalization have evaporated.

In their timely new book, CAN LEGAL WEED WIN?: The Blunt Realities of Cannabis Economics (UC Press; June 14, 2022), Goldstein and Sumner draw on a wealth of economic data and their experience working with industry and cannabis regulators to explain why many weed businesses and some aspects of legalization fail to measure up, while others occasionally get it right.

#Podcast Summary:

--What can NY learn from CA?

--Five pipe dreams about legal weed with a dose of economist reality ($7K/lb wholesale, $300/oz retail, $420M valuations, etc)

--Will national legalization or Banking help cannabis businesses more?  

--Where has cannabis regulation gone astray and how can it be done better?

--Legal weed in 2050: what can be expected?

Episode 960 The #TalkingHedge chats with Daniel Sumner & Robin Goldstein, authors of Can Legal Weed Win?...

https://youtu.be/ii5j9DgEorg