>>15861602 (lb)
You proved the point. Background checks, licensing, certification…all the overhead of a dispensary is expensive, and is all for show and increases the cost of the product, and the profits to the "controllers".
Home grown & weed from your buddy doesn't have all that cost built in. Cartel weed has payoffs, murder and trafficking costs built in.
Follow the money…
Raided Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Were Fronts for Illicit Drug Ring, Federal Authorities Say
Wednesday's raids of 23 residences and businesses and three medical marijuana dispensaries in San Francisco were part of a federal investigation into a multimillion-dollar illicit drug dealing and money laundering operation in which medical marijuana dispensaries in California were used as fronts for an international drug ring, federal authorities said on Thursday, the New York Times reports (Murphy, New York Times, 6/24).
https://californiahealthline.org/morning-breakout/raided-medical-marijuana-dispensaries-were-fronts-for-illicit-drug-ring-federal-authorities-say/
Two people charged as part of the biggest crackdown on marijuana dispensaries in Washington state pleaded guilty to federal charges Monday, acknowledging their business was a front for an illicit drug distribution and money-laundering scheme.
https://kimatv.com/news/local/men-plead-guilty-in-state-pot-dispensary-raids
The truth you seek is just a websearch away.