One of the biggest challenges facing the burgeoning cannabis industry – both in Nevada and nationwide – is the illegal market, experts say.
Although it's hard to know for certain exactly how much business the illegal cannabis market is drawing away from the legal one, experts say it could threaten the future of legal cannabis as the industry begins to grow into adolescence.
"The illicit market is an existential threat to the regulated market," said John Hudak, director of the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy. "And every time we allow law enforcement to look the other way on these operations, we are hurting people who are pouring hundreds of thousands of millions of dollars into their own business."
Hudak's remarks came during a panel discussion about the state of the cannabis industry Tuesday, hosted by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Cannabis Policy Institute. Panelists said part of the illegal market's continued success is partly due to its lower prices. The legal market has regulatory costs and taxes to contend with.
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