Pot Dealer Moves To NYC From California: Huge Profits!

marijuana

The legalization of medical marijuana has its consequences. As California and several other West Coast states have legalized the use of the substance for medical reasons, former underground pot dealers have been forced to move their operation out east. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

WNYC spoke to one such marijuana dealer going by the name of “Chuck,” to get the details. Since weed in NYC is completely illegal, the profits for pot dealer “Chuck” are enormous. A typical Friday afternoon will net him about $3,000. “We’re helping keep people stoned on a Friday night in New York City,” he said. He heads out with a bunch of baggies of marijuana in his backpack, and delivers them personally to each of his customers. Certainly not a bad way to make money.

Marijuana farmers have also benefited tremendously from this recent exchange. Their profits took a dive when their native states legalized the drug, but soon they figured out a way to profit from the new laws. By sending the completely legal marijuana they grew in California to the East coast, they too were able to drastically increase their profits.

Chuck works in an illegal market, so many of his customers don’t have the experience to know what’s good weed and what’s bad weed. What would make a Californian yawn can make a New Yorker squeal with excitement. “There’s plenty of weed in New York; there’s just an illusion of scarcity, which is part of what I’m capitalizing on,” he says. “This is a black market business. There’s insufficient information for customers.

Chuck knows more about his product and the market than his customers. If marijuana weren’t criminalized, New York smokers would be able to see what the best deals actually are instead of relying heavily on the black market. But until then, Chuck makes a huge profit off his customer’s ignorance. But hey, at least people are getting high.