Welcome To The Black Market It's Still Worth $US 46.4 Billion

Here are some of their more salient points. We presume some of the numbers are fudged but is makes for fun end of year reading.

In a $52.5 billion dollar cannabis market, $46.4 billion went to illegal weed. In other words, the recreational cannabis market is only putting a small dent in black market weed sales.

Black market weed dominates even in states that have legalized.
In some states with recreational cannabis (California and Washington), governments still struggle to contain the black market. Washington State levies a 37 percent excise tax and 44 percent retail tax on recreational cannabis, which is actually more lenient than the original tax plan, under which the state taxed each step of the supply chain 25 percent.
However, a study found that Washington’s 44 percent retail tax has negatively affected sales, most likely because consumers have returned to cheaper black market alternatives.
Black market weed costs less than half in California..In California, illegal marijuana costs approximately $20 for an eighth of an ounce, whereas the legal version is around $50.
Taxes, licenses and lab testing boost illegal sales.
DEA cannabis seizures fell 35 percent in 2017. Though the black market is bigger than its legal alternative, statistics show that DEA cannabis seizures fell from $12.8 million to $8.3 million between 2016 and 2017. This may indicate black market sales have decreased, too, though another factor could be decreased government focus on the mairjuana black market.
New York has the biggest black market because New Yorkers consume the most weed.
Legalizing cannabis has reduced violent crime on the U.S.-Mexico border.Research has found that legalizing medical cannabis in states bordering Mexico led to a 12 percent decrease in violent crime along the border. Since this research considers data from 1999 to 2012, it’s likely that recreational cannabis in Oregon, California and Washington has had an even larger impact on violent crime along the US-Mexico border in recent times.
Outlaw growers far out-produce the legal market in California.
Legal weed can be cheaper than black market weed in Oregon.
Limiting at home cultivation curbs black market weed production.