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Economic Impact Of Legalizing Marijuana

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My topic is on the economic impact of legalizing marijuana. This is a very talked about topic in the nation and at some point, will eventually become legal on a federal level. There are so many debates and arguments out there about why it will or will not become legal, but nobody ever really discusses the true reasons it has not become legal. We can’t argue that it’s a drug and that’s what is stopping it, or else there would be no legal sales of alcohol or tobacco. Money alone is what is prolonging the inevitable. How much can be made from the sales and what do the profits go to if any?
I am writing about this because when marijuana does become legal, it will be a major event for the United States. This will be a talked …show more content…

Many liked the idea of legalization and many were against it for so many different reasons. Throughout the last decade, we have seen individual states legalize pot for medical or recreational sale. What has this done for those states on a financial level?
Colorado was the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use and their states finances have improved vastly since. In 2014 to 2015, the marijuana tax and fees revenue in Colorado brought in a total of $211,252,961. This amount was generated in the course of 2 years, and every one of those dollars goes directly back into the bottom line of Colorado’s budget. In a study done by Jon Gettman (2007) “Lost Taxes and Other Costs of Marijuana Laws”, he estimates that the tax rates put on pot could bring in over $6.2 billion annually for the …show more content…

The industry needs to prove the income can help create a stream of continuous revenue that can help lower tax rates and help reduce the deficit. The Congressional Joint Committee of Taxation (JCT), are the ones responsible for estimating if the generated revenue of the marijuana industry will be enough to make it worthwhile for the government. Congress will ask the JCT how much revenue would generate from a change of law and the JCT will give Congress a number. This does not include any other information as to how the number was generated. The JCT does not use models or charts to reach an estimate; instead use professional data collected pertaining to individual states

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They provided information on why eight states have passed the ballot for medical use of marijuana. They mention other countries like Australia has decriminalized marijuana and others have reconsidered the approach towards marijuana. They point out the three general policies approaching the situation with marijuana in the United States, which is the prohibition, decriminalization, and legalization. They define each of these major policies to give you a better understanding. Another major topic they

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An article from the Baltimore Sun claims, “Colorado medical and recreational marijuana market created 12,500 direct jobs and about 18,000 total jobs in 2015 and generated about $1 billion in direct and nearly $2.4 billion in spin-off economic activity.” Looking at how the economy has grown in other states, we could sure hope that maybe the same could happen to us. The same article by the Baltimore Sun also stated, “He called marijuana a rapidly growing small industry ‘that has very high local impacts.” (the Baltimore Sun is referring to Adam Orens, founding partner of the Marijuana Policy

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Aside from a multitude of medical benefits, it is important to recognize how the United States economy could save an estimated 7.7 billion dollars annually, if they let citizens to have an alternative legal form of medicine such as marijuana. Many of our country’s money saving would stem from the amount of money which is spent in order to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate those who utilize medical marijuana. Caputo and Ostrom have as well stated, “It estimated that the figure represents 10-15 percent of the total trafficking illicit marijuana sales which, assuming a 15 percent

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In the state of Colorado in the U.S marijuana is completely legal for both casual and medical use. Many had speculations over if the experiment of legalizing the drug in a state would be a success, the doubters were proved wrong as it has been a huge success especially from the economic point of view. In 2014, retail cannabis sales raised some $76 million in tax revenue and fees, according to data compiled by the Colorado Department of Revenue (ARMENTANO, 2015). Marijuana sales in the past year totaled some $700 million (ARMENTANO, 2015). If marijuana was not legalized this revenue would have gone to the black market where most of the marijuana was being sold, but instead can be used to stimulate the economy and raise tax dollars.

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Barmak (2013) that the legalization of marijuana would establish an impressive industry opportunity which could contribute around “$2.5 billion in license fees and taxes.” Barmak (2013) article states that in “International Journal of Drug Policy, the retail income of marijuana consumption in B.C is between $443 million and $564 million. Also, the Canadians spend about $3 billion a year on Marijuana

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752 Words | 4 Pages

About 30 adults will participate in the first of three trials, which will test whether medicinal cannabis alleviates symptoms and pain for terminally ill patients and chronic sufferers. Additionally, approximately, cannabis is a $25+ billion dollar industry. Currently, all of those revenues go directly to cartels through illegal use. Through regulation and taxation, Government can transform these black market billions into taxable revenues by legalizing medical grade cannabis.

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But the financial benefits of legalization go beyond taxing the sale of marijuana and keeping drug money out of the hands of criminals. All across the nation, wherever the drug is illegal, state and local governments spend enormous sums of money on the enforcement of marijuana laws, the prosecution of offenders, and incarceration of the convicted. The Wall Street Journal estimates that the American taxpayer spends $40 billion per year on the administrative costs associated with the criminalization of marijuana (Becker). On the state level, we can again look to the example of Colorado. Conservative estimates by the Colorado Center on Law and Policy show that legalization will save the state $40 million per year by no longer administering marijuana laws (Drug Policy Alliance).

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Colorado has dedicated a majority of the marijuana tax revenue to school construction, with the remainder of the money being placed into enforcement and general state funds. Washington dedicated 60 percent of its marijuana tax revenue to substance abuse prevention, research, education and healthcare. The remaining money was dedicated to general state funding and local budgets. Although contributing to the general fund does not impact it in a tremendous way, social services and other programs could be strengthened. By improving said programs, people could be helped and new jobs could be created.

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To add, recreational marijuana is taxable! Therefore, it is money that can be put into our communities. Recreational marijuana as intimidating as some may think, can actually benefit our community in many ways. To begin, many believe legalizing marijuana would cause crime to increase, on the contrary legalizing it will lead to a decrease of crime. Imagine that getting your hands on marijuana was as accessible as cigarettes in a gas station, how many illegal cigarette dealers have been punished in jail with the maximum sentence for selling cigarettes?

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Examining how legalization impacts the economy is fundamental to understanding the overall effects of recreational marijuana legalization. States that legalize recreational cannabis experience significant increases in tax revenue, positive changes in the labor market, and higher housing values. The additional tax revenue that states

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Colorado a state in United States of America was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana which was in legalized in January 2014. Since they have legalized cannabis employment rates are only increasing as well as the revenue made. No statistics show that crime rates have increased in fact they are decreasing considering Colorado’s government has seen a 98% decrease in cannabis related arrests. “Strauss found that the economic impact of the two dispensaries amounted to 280 jobs and $30 million in total economic output between January 1, 2014 and June 30, 2014, and that the two dispensaries contribute 10 times the tax revenue of either a typical restaurant or retail store.” (Drug Policy Alliance, 2015).

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The topic I choose to write about in this week’s assignment would be the debate of recreational marijuana. As a former smoker, and as someone who grew up around lots of different drugs in Las Vegas, it’s sort of an easy topic to debate. The problem here, is that both sides are right and wrong on this topic, and it seems that there are benefits as well as consequences to recreational marijuana. One side argues that it is safe and an opportunity for states to generate more total revenue, while the other side thinks it does nothing but harm the economy and the businesses within them. From my personal experiences both sides are correct, but they leave out information or simply don’t have the “correct” information.

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The gains would come from tax revenues on pot sales and savings to the justice system – including the cost of keeping smokers in jail. Since prohibition is never going to stop people smoking dope, the state may as well make money out of it. Colorado raked in more than $5 million in the first week after legalizing retail sales. It could also be a major boom to the economies of producing countries. One Jamaican company recently struck a $100 million deal to supply Colorado with medicinal ganja.

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If marijuana, was to be legalized to the public it would help the economy tremendously. Colorado being a test state for the substance, recreational use of the drug has approximately said to bring in an income of 95 million dollars to the state of Colorado in one single year. Taxing of the drug has been planned on being spent towards schools approximately 40 million

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If marijuana is regulated and taxed properly, it can generate millions of dollars that can help pay the debt of the US and/or help cities rebuild a better infrastructure. Marijuana has become the third most popular drug in the US behind alcohol and tobacco. It is a renewable resource and is not just used for smoking; it can be used to make paper, oils, and cloth. Every year millions of tax dollars are being spent to enforce marijuana laws. If these laws were repealed and marijuana was legalized, we would not only make money from the marijuana, but we would also be using a lot less money to enforce marijuana laws.

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