"the effective tax rate can climb to as high as 34% when factoring in state sales tax and local taxes. That’s made California’s legal pot extremely expensive compared with other West Coast states — and made the illicit products, which are sold tax free, a cheap alternative."

Across retailing, stores sell branded products at a substantial premium to generic products(Coke vs the generic pop in the local grocery store), yet most people still prefer the branded products. In the pot industry one would expect the preference to be even stronger because the legal branded product is going to be a consistent quality--while the illegal stuff make be fake or adulterated. So I don't understand the California preference for the illegal pot.