Legal CA marijuana could be so expensive it acts as a boon to the black market...

[DSRilk]

...legalization would end the illicit trade, an argument not grounded in reality.

It worked for alchohol, and I don't see a lot of black market cigarettes either. It absolutely can and has worked. The excise tax listed in the article is LESS than the excise tax on alchohol in Virginia, yet again... no real black market for alchohol here. Your statement is made even more absurd by the fact that 1) this isn't a done deal yet, 2) they can adjust the tax later to help achieve the desired impact, and 3) you can grow your own legally now in CA.

[Najnaj]

All they have to do is match the price which given today's price point if weed should not be a problem.

Also, homegrown will take the money away from the dealers which imo is the most important part. It isn't hard to grow. You can basically throw it away and it starts to grow again... called weed for a reason. I grow a few plants on the balcony every summer and give most of it away to friends who would have paid drug dealers for it otherwise. A little tax revenue might be nice but getting rid of 80% of the illegal drug trade over night will be amazing.

For those of you surprised by the number "80%" it is actually somewhere around that. A vast majority of drug money comes from weed. You would expect speed or heroin judging from media but it is really good ole pot.