December 22, 2023 9:57AM 

# Prioritize Marijuana Licenses for Past Offenders? No, Just Eliminate Licenses 

By [Jeffrey Miron](https://www.cato.org/people/jeffrey-miron) 

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![marijuana](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2023-12/marijuana%20shop%20.jpg?itok=Z9HnC0t8) 

As states ease their marijuana prohibitions, several are prioritizing [licenses](https://www.npr.org/2023/01/05/1147090813/recreational-marijuana-and-restorative-justice#:~:text=Recreational%20Marijuana%20and%20Restorative%20Justice%20%3A%201A%20Who%20is%20allowed%20to,trend%20called%20%22restorative%20justice.%22) for individuals “disproportionately impacted” by prior drug laws. This mostly [means](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10373104/#:~:text=While%20the%20criteria,a%20cannabis%20conviction) those with a prior drug conviction.

This issue arises because states limit the number of marijuana licenses. That is misguided.

Government-created barriers to entry keep prices high, inconvenience consumers, and allow those who get licenses to earn outsized profits. In New York, for example, six months after the state [started](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/06/nyregion/ny-marijuana-failing-rollout.html) issuing licenses, only 12 dispensaries had opened. Similarly, licensing requirement plus high taxes in [California](https://alcoholstudies.rutgers.edu/cannabis-black-market-thrives-despite-legalization/) have kept the underground market five times larger than the legal one (although this partially reflects [federal](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/15/business/cannabis-dispensaries-oakland.html) prohibition).

In Libertarian Land, government imposes few if any restrictions on starting a business, of any kind. That should apply to marijuana legalization.

##### Related Tags 

[Regulation](https://www.cato.org/regulatory-studies), [Drug War](https://www.cato.org/drug-war) 

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