Mellow or up in smoke? Economic impacts unclear for B.C.’s pot future

VANCOUVER – A hazy future lies ahead for B.C.’s thriving underground pot industry after two U.S. states voted to allow its citizens to legally use the drug recreationally.

Analysts say the business consequences for an illegal industry that generates billions could range from mild to seeing pot growers’ livelihoods go up in smoke.

Economics professor Werner Antweiler, with the University of B.C., argues that the market will dry up considerably because his data shows two-thirds of what’s being grown in British Columbia is exported to the U.S. west coast.

But RCMP believe that most of what’s grown in Canada stays in Canada, and drug researcher and activist Dustin Cantwell says that means there won’t be a business impact north of the border.

Former B.C. Attorney General Geoff Plant, who had been advocating for the legalization of pot, says he believes there will be some impact on the pot market, but it won’t be major because other buyers are always available.

Plant says he believes the illegal market and its associated gang violence won’t slow until there’s major policy change throughout Canada and the United States.