As much attention as the Presidential election received in November of 2020, numerous other crucial decisions were taken at the polls: for example, several states had voted to determine the future of the legal cannabis sector in some manner. Four states—New Jersey, South Dakota, Montana, and Arizona—decided to legalize mail order marijuana for recreational reasons, following Colorado and Washington’s lead.
Overall, more and more states are seeking to legalize marijuana (for medical, recreational, or both purposes), and the impact has already been significant in certain cases. Legal cannabis enterprises, such as those that study and produce cannabis-based medicinal products, those who distribute and cultivate marijuana, and many more, have sprung up as a result of the legal developments.
Virginia is the latest state to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the governor of New Mexico, has yet to sign the law. As the first states have started to shift their legal views, the economic reimbursement of legalizing cannabis has already become clear. Overall, legalizing marijuana might result in a significant boost to state financial system as well as significant revenue for both the state and federal governments.
Over the last several years, better-than-expected marijuana sales in Colorado and Washington have resulted in booming tax collections. Colorado received more than $302 million in medicinal and recreational marijuana taxes and fees in 2019. According to a survey from Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics, ales in the United States were $12.2 billion in 2019 and are anticipated to climb to $31.1 billion by 2024.
Local evidence backs up this claim; according to a report from the Institute of Cannabis Research at Colorado State University-Pueblo, the legal mail order marijuana business contributed more than $80.8 million to the local economy in 2017, mostly through taxes and other levies. The economic benefits of legalizing marijuana on a federal level might be significant.
Jobs And Income
The first stage for states that voted in favor of medicinal marijuana would be to open marijuana nurseries and dispensaries. These would not only create jobs but also get the cannabis business in these locations moving forward economically. The economic effect has grown more tangible as the business has evolved in jurisdictions like California and Nevada, where such infrastructure already exists.
According to research by Marijuana Policy Group on Nevada, legalizing leisure marijuana may sustain over 41,000 employment and produce over $1.7 billion in labor income through 2024. According to an ICF analysis, recreational marijuana sales will create at least 81,000 new direct, indirect, and induced employment in California. It also expects a $3.5 billion rise in overall labor income.
National legalization might produce 1 million employments by 2025, according to an analysis by New Frontier forecasting the blow of federally legal marijuana. These jobs would most likely come from the rapidly developing business that would sprout up across the country. To produce, process, distribute, and market marijuana-based goods, workers would be required.
Legal marijuana has the potential to help economies on both a local and national scale tremendously. It might also aid in the protection of clients’ financial portfolios throughout the country and abroad. While marijuana remains illegal on the federal level, investors are finding it tough to profit from the industry’s expansion.
