Jason Dick is a longtime marijuana user. For some time, the Hull resident grew his own supply. Now he buys marijuana from a “friend of a friend.”

Although Dick has registered with the state as a medical marijuana patient and a caregiver, he called the prices at dispensaries “absurdly high.” When he buys marijuana from the friend, it costs half as much.

Jesse Hayes of Boston also buys from friends, despite having a medical marijuana card. He said the prices are better on the black market. And even now that Massachusetts has legalized marijuana for all adults, the closest recreational store to Hayes is in Salem. Going there, he said, “does not make sense.”

In November 2018, the first legal recreational marijuana stores opened in Massachusetts, and any adult can walk in and buy a joint. Marijuana users have flocked to the nine stores that are already open, resulting in long lines. But many users have not yet made the switch. While some say they like the safety of knowing what products they are getting, others say buying illegally costs less and is more convenient.

“Until there are places within 20 minutes of everyone’s home, people will continue to go to the gray market,” said a cannabis user from Central Massachusetts who gave his name only as Will.

For now, Will said even though he would prefer to buy marijuana that is tested and regulated, he continues to buy on the illegal market. Going to a legal store “costs twice as much and you have to drive twice as far to get it,” he said.

State marijuana regulators have said they know it will take time for users to switch from buying on the black market to buying marijuana that is taxed and regulated. But part of the goal of legalizing marijuana was to eliminate, or at least lessen the influence, of the black market.

“Standing up a legal industry that is safe and accessible is the best defense against the illicit market,” said Cannabis Control Commission Chairman Steven Hoffman after a recent commission meeting. “I don’t have any expectation that it’s going to disappear overnight, but I certainly have the expectation, and I think we have the commitment of the state, to see that diminish significantly over time.”

Kamani Jefferson, president of the Massachusetts Recreational Consumer Council, said the decision about where to buy tends to depend on availability and pricing. So far, the only shop open in the Boston area — where much of the state’s population is centered — is in Salem. He said the prices in legal stores can be more than double what they are on the illicit market: $60 to $70 for an eighth of an ounce of cannabis, compared to $20 to $30.

Jefferson said it is likely that as more stores open, legal marijuana will be more easily accessible, and with more supply, prices will go down.

The Republican / MassLive interviewed several Massachusetts cannabis consumers at the National Cannabis Industry Association’s Seed to Sale show in Boston on Tuesday. They included recreational and medical consumers. While some had switched entirely to buying legal marijuana, others have kept their old suppliers.

Tim Mack, who is applying for a license to grow and sell marijuana, says he hears from people who visit his hydroponic shop, which sells plants and gardening supplies, that the legal price of marijuana, including the tax, keeps them going to cheaper black market suppliers. He thinks the legal market is attracting many consumers who want the novelty of buying marijuana in a store as well as those who do not know where to buy it on the street.

Justin Gallucci of Boston has cerebral palsy and is a registered medical marijuana patient. He prefers buying on the legal market, because marijuana is more readily available and easy to depend on. But where he shops depends on the variety of marijuana available at dispensaries when he wants to buy.

“If a legal dispensary does not have what I’m looking for, I might have to go back to a gray market source,” Gallucci said.

Others say they know what they are buying in the legal market. Melissa Nowitz, a medical patient from Franklin, said she feels more comfortable knowing that marijuana has been tested. Salesmen at the dispensaries can tell her what strains to use to treat her anxiety and depression, while on the black market, she did not know what she was getting.

David Helbraun, a New York lawyer, who bought from a Salem store while visiting Massachusetts, said as a lawyer, he has to buy marijuana legally. But more than that, he said, “If it’s legal, I know it’s a safe place to get it.” He added that the legal stores have more choice and better customer service than buying from someone on the street.

Steve Croteau, a medical marijuana patient from Uxbridge, said he used to buy marijuana on the black market, but registered for a medical marijuana card as soon as he could so that he could get products that are safe and tested. Buying on the black market, he said, “wasn’t worth my time or my health.”