When New York legalized recreational marijuana, we expected good things: lots of jobs and lots of tax revenue.
But the reality of the situation now is so different from what we expected.
There are more than 10 times as many illegal dispensaries as legal recreational dispensaries,
and many people are buying from illegal dispensaries.
Young people can buy marijuana from illegal pharmacies
There are also many robberies at illegal dispensaries every year, and teenagers are able to buy marijuana through illegal dispensaries.
The government’s marijuana regulatory agency,
the Bureau of Cannabis Control, which is supposed to stop this,
is so weak that it is not doing its job and is virtually unregulated. Of course, marijuana is not as bad as some critics claim,
but it is certainly addictive and has side effects.
Addiction rates soar in areas where marijuana is legalised
Many people have already become addicted to marijuana and continue to use it. It also becomes a social problem when addicts become socially isolated as they become unable to function in their daily lives.
We can also see the effects of legalizing marijuana by the spike in the number of addicts in areas where it has already been legalized.