KQED's Forum Why Is California's Cannabis Black Market Still So Strong?
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Mar 9, 2026 Scott Eden, investigative reporter and author of A Killing in Cannabis, recounts a Silicon Valley entrepreneur’s move into legalized marijuana and the violent fallout. He explores how taxes, regulation, legacy growers and limited retail kept the black market thriving. The conversation traces tangled business choices, crime, and potential policy fixes in California’s cannabis landscape.
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Tech Founder Fell Into Legacy Partnerships
- Scott Eden tells how Silicon Valley entrepreneur Tushar Atre fell in love with a Humboldt grower and quickly combined licensed and unlicensed cannabis operations.
- Atre built a high-tech hash oil lab but opened an unlicensed black-market lab in 2017 to learn processing and accelerate the business.
Home Invasion Led To Atre's Murder In The Mountains
- Eden recounts Atre's abduction during a home invasion and discovery of his body in the Santa Cruz Mountains on October 1, 2019.
- Three assailants entered his Pleasure Point home, he was missing for hours, and deputies later found him shot and stabbed on raw land he owned.
Regulation Plus Oversupply Keeps Legacy Market Alive
- Scott Eden explains California's oversupply and regulatory burden created severe price crashes that preserved a lucrative illicit market.
- High taxes, license fees and local levies squeezed margins so licensed operators were often tempted to divert product to legacy buyers or burner distros.
