How to Differentiate Legal from Illegal Dispensaries in California
The legalization of cannabis use in the United States has been on a steady increase with more states not only legalizing its use for medicinal purposes but also recreational use. California joined this elite group on the 1st of January, 2018 though it had allowed its use for medicinal purposes as far back as November 1996 when it was the first state to do so. What this means is that dispensaries in California would have to make some changes to their operations to meet the new status quo. These changes could include an increase in prices and taxes, operations pre-packaging, sealing of the products, and so on. Illegal cannabis dispensaries are very different to the legal ones, unlike their legal counterparts their services and operations aren't governed by any oversight agency. Asides the obvious difference in price, these dispensaries also offer a lot of benefits to their customers, a factor that makes consumers more inclined to choose them. However, despite the numerous benefits they offer, they lack a factor that most consider the most important. They are illegal, so choosing such a dispensary is tantamount to committing a crime.
A closer look at the scope
Legal dispensaries offer consumers better products, security, customer services, and facilities which ensure your safety and satisfaction. In terms of product testing and compliance, you can rest assured with these dispensaries offering you safe products while about 75% of the illegal shops are said to fail the Vitamin E Acetate tests according to the Assistant Chief of Communications from the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC), Alex Traverso. The legal cannabis shops are also known to offer more benefits to their immediate community in terms of the provision of jobs and payment of taxes. Many cannabis business news sites coverd this story for months.
However, because of the unfair advantage of the illegal competition the number of legal dispensaries in California is said to be about a third of the illegal dispensaries as they have to bear the costs of licensing, among other fees to set up their businesses. After setting up, most then have to contend with the illegal dispensaries which have led to the closure of many of them as they are unable to meet up with the stiff competition the illegal dispensaries offer.
How to Identify a Legal Dispensary
The majority argue that it is not easy to identify which of the various dispensaries in California is legal. This is true in the sense that many dispensaries were not outrightly illegal, some of them only violated some of the regulations put in place, so all they require is to simply improve their businesses to meet up with the new regulations. This cogent factor is why we have put together some useful tips to assist you with identifying the legal and illegal dispensaries among the numerous ones available. They include:
The BCC Emblem: The Bureau for Cannabis Control (BCC) made an emblem available for businesses who have been able to meet up with the various regulations and standards outlined for them to put in front of their shops. The emblems are designed with unique and individual QR codes that show the required information regarding the licensing of the business. All that is required of you as a customer is to scan the code by placing your phone camera in front of it and click the notification message you get. This emblem also applies to delivery and distribution personnel as they are mandated to have on their personality too. You could also check this information on CAPotCheck.com by making use of filters such as location, license type, etc.
Packaging: The type of product packaging you notice when you walk into a dispensary is another indicator of the legality of the shop. This is because those shops which have jars and bags of cannabis on their shelves or lying around rather than having them neatly and separately packaged into re-sealable, child-proof packaging according to the outlined regulations are probably illegal.
Security and ID: Legal dispensaries are quite meticulous about the checking of IDs and are other security checks which are easily identifiable. Illegal dispensaries, on the other hand, are not as meticulous and you will find some security breaches noticeable when you visit them.
Hours: Illegal dispensaries also tend to run their businesses at very different and odd hours in a bid to evade the law or sanctions.
It is best for any law-abiding consumer to avoid issues such as possible breaking of the law or an arrest by ensuring to confirming the legality of the dispensary before a visit. Besides, it could be very awkward and time-wasting to get out of such situations if the dispensary is found to be illegal after getting there. To avoid this, you should run proper checks on the business online as there are various reputable sources online like cannabis.net that offer the information you need in the form of comprehensive lists of legal dispensaries operating in the location you want.
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