The legal market in California, despite being 10 years legal, is still less than 40% of the cannabis consumed in this state so we are still fighting every day against folks that are unregulated, they're untaxed, and we don't know the safety of their products.
Across kitchens, dining rooms, and holiday tables in homes around the country, especially in legalized states like New York, conversations about weed are finally happening out loud, without shame. This cultural transformation isn't just about acceptance. It's about normalization. It's about replacing misinformation with lived experience and science-backed understanding. It's about parents talking to children, grandparents sharing edibles instead of cocktails, and friends trading stories about terpene profiles rather than tannins.
A study co-authored by Kaiser Permanente and Oakland's Public Health Institute indicates teenagers in areas with more cannabis stores suffer significantly higher rates of mental health issues, raising concerns about recreational sales.