About a decade after states began legalizing recreational marijuana use, there’s little doubt who the biggest winners have been: criminals. And it’s equally apparent who the biggest losers have been: kids. New York state’s disastrous experiment with legalization is making both of those facts painfully — and dangerously — obvious.
There are now some 1,500 illegal pot shops across New York City, many of them openly advertising their wares on brick-and-mortar storefronts. Last year, illegal vendors did about $2 billion in sales statewide — better than Broadway shows. It’s as easy to buy an ounce of pot as it is a slice of pizza.
Under the law passed by the New York State Legislature, possession of more than 3 ounces of marijuana is still illegal, and possession of 8 or more ounces is a felony carrying a prison sentence — but one would never know that by looking at all the illegal shops and their advertising. Just think about the signal it sends to criminals that government is unwilling to crack down on so many storefronts selling drugs illegally — often to children.