Marijuana retailers in Connecticut say a dearth of licensed growers in the state’s fledgling legal pot industry has left them with a shortage of product to sell.

The supply problem has appeared after slow retail growth in neighboring New York last year left growers there struggling with the opposite: an excess of supply.

It would seem both problems could easily be solved by shipping product a few miles over state lines. But that would violate federal drug laws. So each state that legalizes marijuana is left with its own process for licensing growers and sellers, and trying to create a balance between the two within state borders.

“To me, while this is frustrating and annoying and difficult to address, this is a problem that is not unexpected,” he said. “What generally happens in states is that at first there is not enough supply, and then there is an oversupply, and that creates a total mess.”

Still, he’s wary of any push for a national law and standard, which he fears would lead to large corporations taking over the industry from smaller farms.

“States are rightfully focusing on entrepreneurs in areas impacted by the war on drugs — Black and brown communities,” he said. “Even the largest cannabis growers right now are startups, I would argue. And the story of the regular American family farm is a cautionary one, I would argue, when we look at solutions to this.”