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You are sadly mistaken. Pot is cash on the street. People who use drugs know drugs have monetary value - high grade pot is very expensive and these dispensaries have large amounts of it. It’s a double bonus for the crooks - dope and cash.

It’s the same reason home invasion robberies are increasing and most of them are drug related - it’s very lucrative and there is less chance it will be reported to the police. Look at the number of pharmacy robberies by people addicted to hillbilly heroin - they often don’t even ask for the cash - they want the pills. I don’t equate marijuana use to violence, but there are some very violent criminals engaged in the trade.

A large number of these shops continue to sell out the back door (without the taxes) hiding their illegal conduct under the cover of a legal dispensary. Many of the folks who have opened these dispensaries have been cultivating and selling marijuana long before they obtained a license. It’s the best of all worlds - they can appear legit and make money dispensing some weed at the counter and they have the cover of legal business and make even more out the back door and in their grow rooms.

IMO, we can pass laws legalizing the marijuana trade, but many of the people “licensed” to do so will continue to break the law as have many of the medical marijuana patients that are only allowed to grow a few plants, but have many. The state will never realize the projected tax revenue because they are essentially de-criminalizing possession while they keep the illegal trade lucrative (avoiding taxes).