Marijuana has slowly become the best medical and recreational miracle plant of this century. This comes after several years of being termed and seen as an illegal drug mainly used by degenerates and criminals. The use of cannabis in its different forms has been responsible for the prosecution, arrest, and incarceration of millions of people in the U.S. In the past, the most popular versions of weed have included marijuana and hashish.
In 2021, cannabis is now legal in over thirty states for medical purposes. It has also been legalized as a recreational substance in over twenty states. However, it is still categorized as a Schedule 1 controlled substance by the federal government. States are continuing to legalize marijuana, which is positively impacting their economies.
Cannabis has proven to be helpful and effective as an alternative in treating conditions such as chronic pain. Here are the economic benefits that states are bound to enjoy by legalizing cannabis.
- An Impact on the tax revenue
The sales of cannabis and cannabis products in all the legalized states have over the year made the tax revenues buoyant. They are collecting hundreds of millions in fees and taxes from both recreational and medical weed. For example, according to Arcview Market Research, marijuana sales in the U.S. brought in a total of $ 12.2 billion in 2019.
The cannabis industry is hence supporting local governments mainly through tax. Other related fees also boost these economies. If you are a farmer that wishes to increase your yields and sales, you can check our tutorial on scrogging. If the countries like the U.S. legalizes weed at the federal level, the economic benefits could be astonishing.
2. Creating jobs and generating income
Setting up weed nurseries and establishing dispensaries are the two initial stages in the production and sale of cannabis and cannabis products in the legalized states. Apart from creating jobs for many individuals, cannabis also sets the stage for more economic activity within the industry. In states that legalized medical marijuana much earlier, this infrastructure already exists.
The more the sector grows and expands, the easier it is to quantify the development in these areas. The industry creates many direct jobs in the dispensaries and the farms. It is also responsible for generating billions of dollars in labor income. There are also indirect and induced jobs created; as a result o the same. It allows more individuals access to a stable income that they can use to sustain their families. The jobs are in the various levels of production.
Workers are needed to grow, process, sell and also distribute marijuana products. The indirect jobs are in secondary industries that are still related to this industry. Such professionals include; contractors, financiers, and software developers, among others.
3. Saving money
Another critical benefit of cannabis legalization is the amount of money that could potentially be saved and the money that could be generated. Marijuana enforcement at the federal level already costs billions of dollars each year. The more the states continue to legalize medical and recreational marijuana, the less required reinforcement. That means that the government will incur lower enforcement costs.
If this legalization were to reach the national level, there would be a more dramatic reduction in enforcement costs. Marijuana possession and distribution also account for a big part of all drug-related cases. If cannabis were to be exempted from the controlled substances list, the number of court cases going to a trial involving cannabis would drop by a very significant margin. That would subsequently result in less incarceration, helping the states and country save a lot of money overall.
Since the conversation of legalization began, there has been a lot of pushbacks against it. Some people are concerned about the confusion that law enforcement may have because of shifting regulations on this controlled substance. Another is a moral concern that it will increase drug use among the younger generations.
However, as many more states decriminalize weed, the economic benefits continue to become apparent. These continue to create a conversation about the nationwide decriminalization of weed as a controlled substance.