“That is a huge win,” said Ryan Kunkel, whose
Have A Heart dispensary chain operates in
Washington, Oregon and California. “Our biggest
competitor in every jurisdiction in California is
black-market Weedmaps. It’s not the tax rates,
it’s not the regulations — it’s Weedmaps’ efforts
to prop up unlicensed operators.”
Jerred Kiloh, a licensed dispensary owner in
Los Angeles who heads the United Cannabis
Business Association, an industry group,
projected that half of California’s illegal
operations could dry up once they are denied
access to Weedmaps ads.
He credited state regulators with pressuring the
company to reverse course, along with pending
legislation aimed at ending the practice.
“Illegal operators are going to have to go back to
the underground,” Kiloh said. “That’s not going
to give them the kind of business they had.”
Weedmaps, founded in 2008 and based in
Irvine, is a go-to website for people looking to
find a marijuana shop. With a few clicks on a
cellphone, customers can find virtually any type
of cannabis product, along with the fastest route
to the place selling it and ratings from other
consumers to help them decide what to buy.
They can also order online through the site and
even have their weed delivered.
In a news release, the company framed
its announcement as part of a social
justice imperative.
“One of the most important and impactful
promises of cannabis legalization is that it will
give minority entrepreneurs the ability to enter
the new industry and help reverse the damages
inflicted on those disproportionately affected by
the failed ‘War on Drugs,’” it said. “Unfortunately,Image: Sam Gangwer