Legal Marijuana Presents Potential for Huge Benefits for Local and National Economies. It could also help secure the investment. Impact on Tax Revenues · Income and Jobs · Saving Money Legal Marijuana Presents Potential for Huge Benefits for Economies at Local and National Scale. It could also help secure investors' investment portfolios across the country and elsewhere as well.
While Marijuana Remains Federal Illegal, It's Difficult for Investors to Capitalize on Industry Growth. The number of marijuana-related companies listed on public stock exchanges is minuscule, and while investors have the option of working with over-the-counter exchanges, many of the most successful companies in the initial cannabis legal space are based in Canada or other countries. The vote was overshadowed by a simultaneous push for another much-needed round of coronavirus stimulus legislation, and the bill passed by the House of Representatives, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Elimination Act (MORE Act), never received a vote in the U.S. UU.
Along with illicit opioids such as heroin and powerful hallucinogens such as peyote and LSD, cannabis remains a Schedule 1 controlled substance that is illegal under federal law. The momentum came as four new states eliminated state criminal penalties for recreational cannabis use, bringing the total number of U.S. Jurisdictions to do it at 16, according to a rolling count from Esquire. Their number includes not only Democratic strongholds such as Washington State and California, but also Republican-dominated states such as South Dakota and Alaska.
The momentum is on the side of advocates of cannabis legalization. As we look forward to possible radical change in the U.S. Drug Policy, Let's Consider the Potential Impacts of Legal Recreational Marijuana on Federal and State Budgets and the U.S. Several key provisions of the MORE and MFO laws relate directly to the federal budget and the United States in general.
Economics, including establishing a federal tax on cannabis sales and opening Small Business Administration loan programs to cannabis-related businesses. Even provisions that are not explicitly financial could have significant economic and fiscal impacts. For example, eliminating or sealing previous marijuana-related convictions could improve job prospects, income potential, and economic mobility of those affected. First data from states and countries that have already legalized marijuana put CBO projections into context.
Legalization could be a boon for stock prices of publicly traded cannabis companies, as retail investors and money managers flock to invest in previously considered cannabis stocks. Growing interest from major investors could drive more cannabis-related companies to go public, generating large payouts for early investors, executives and equity-compensated employees alike. Proponents of legalizing marijuana argue that the likely benefits far outweigh the potential costs. Risk-averse banks unlikely to open their doors to cannabis companies until the substance is federally legal.
While no one expects new “banked” dispensaries to be immune to theft and theft, allowing credit card payments and digital payrolls would certainly reduce the financial stakes of a robbery or break-in. And the MORE Act's promise to make cannabis businesses eligible for Small Business Administration loans could reduce funding costs and boost growth for start-up businesses. The legal cannabis market is woefully inefficient. Because the substance remains illegal at the federal level, interstate trade in cannabis is prohibited, California cannabis growers can only sell to California retailers, just as Oregon producers can sell only to Oregon retailers, etc.
While low cannabis prices could have unintended consequences, such as lower than expected higher consumption rates and tax revenues, a more efficient cannabis market characterized by smooth interstate trade and strong private investment would be an economic blessing. This income-generating potential is particularly welcome after multiple rounds of pandemic-related stimuli, the total costs of which have not yet been counted. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the MORE Act would eliminate 73,000 person-years of federal prison, for the time being of marijuana. That is, thousands of Americans convicted of cannabis-related offenses will cumulatively spend 73,000 fewer years in prison if the MORE Act becomes law.
And because many employers simply refuse to hire people with criminal records, wholesale sealing or expunging of criminal records for cannabis could also create a cohort of newly marketable job candidates. Still, because today's cannabis market is hampered by fragmentation, inefficiency, and scant access to core finance, it's not operating anywhere near its full potential. That's likely to change greatly if cannabis becomes legal from coast to coast. Although the fortunes of individual cannabis companies will always rise and fall regardless of the sector as a whole, legalization will create increasingly varied opportunities for investors as new companies launch and the overall market expands.
Opponents of marijuana legalization question advocates' optimistic outlook for a post-normalization world. Drivers with marijuana problems took to the road long before the first states legalized the drug for recreational use, of course, but widespread legalization and more liberal attitudes around its use have apparently created a permitting structure. A decades-long public health push, such as successful, if not comprehensive, campaigns against tobacco use and driving under the influence of alcohol may be needed to limit cannabis-related road carnage for years to come. A White House report released during former President Barack Obama's first term details the possible public health consequences of legalizing marijuana.
Although these data do not establish a direct correlation between cannabis use and lower productivity, it is reasonable to expect that higher rates of cannabis use and higher rates of substance use and abuse in general correspond to worse workplace outcomes. Large-scale marijuana cultivation consumes large amounts of water and electricity. A document prepared by a legislative task force in the state of Oregon found that cannabis operations consume almost twice as much water per plant as wine-grape vineyards. The CBC reports that producing a pound of high-quality cannabis consumes as much electricity as an average Canadian household does in two months.
Although keeping the substance on the federal list of controlled substances will not eliminate marijuana agriculture, there is a persuasive environmental argument to limit supply and avoid the kind of intensive, large-scale cultivation practices that increase the carbon of other agricultural industries. footprints. With Democrats in control of the Presidency and both houses of Congress, the chances of a major reform of federal cannabis policy becoming law are higher than at any other time in memory. As we have seen, the legalization of marijuana would have a significant impact on public finances, criminal justice and economic policy at the state and federal levels.
Reasonable people may disagree on the magnitude and direction of those impacts, and some argue that federal legalization would be a net benefit to society and the economy, and others say it will create more problems than it solves. This type of debate is healthy. And it's certainly not the first of its kind. The ongoing conversation about whether a national lottery should be established to reduce the federal budget deficit is just one example of a family dynamic that pits advocates of increasing incomes by expanding controversial “vice” industries, such as gambling and recreational drugs, against those who warn of unacceptable social and economic costs.
However, it turns out that the debate over the legalization of cannabis will not be the last of its kind either. Two-thirds of Americans want recreational marijuana use to be legal under federal law and in their own state. As more states move to legalize marijuana, most people say they wouldn't mind if a licensed marijuana business opened in their neighborhood. Creating jobs Legalizing and regulating marijuana will bring one of the country's largest cash crops under the rule of law.
This will create jobs and economic opportunities in the formal economy rather than in the illicit market. Senators also sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland in March, urging him to order federal prosecutors not to interfere with marijuana legalization policies enacted by Native American tribes. The legislation would likely merge several previous cannabis reform bills to deprogram the substance, eliminate low-level cannabis crimes and establish a tax regime for the legal sale of cannabis, according to a separate Marijuana Moment report. Recent Pew Research Survey Shows 91% of Americans Say It's Time to Legalize at Least Some Uses of Marijuana.
Marijuana dispensaries could be particularly vulnerable to the confiscation of federal civilian assets, as the drug is classified as illegal by the federal government despite legalization in many states. Critics of legal marijuana cite the possibility of confusion among law enforcement agencies, keeping up with evolving regulations, concern that minors gain access to the drug, a possible drop in property values and more to maintain marijuana's status as a drug illicit. The House of Representatives voted to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Elimination Act (MORE), which decriminalizes marijuana under federal law. Tax revenues in legal marijuana-related states provide funding to police, drug treatment and mental health centers, and housing programs, along with school programs such as anti-bullying campaigns, youth tutoring, and public school grants.
President Joe Biden promised that he would support changing the classification of marijuana to make it less regulated than other narcotics such as heroin, but he has remained impassive by state after state allowing recreational marijuana. In fact, legal recreational marijuana receives the same level of support, whether the question is posed on the state or federal level, suggesting that jurisdiction may not matter much to individuals. As Congress faces the deadline for approving a spending plan, legislators will also have to decide whether to renew an amendment that prohibits the Department of Justice from using federal funds to interfere with state laws that legalize medical marijuana. For example, tribes located in states where marijuana has not yet been legalized would not be eligible.
Unless otherwise noted, attorneys are not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, nor can NLR attest to the accuracy of any Legal Specialization annotations or other Professional Credentials. All of these reasons combine to lower the likelihood that marijuana will become legal nationwide at any time. Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment prevents federal government from committing funds to interfere with states' implementation of legalized medical marijuana, but must be renewed every year. The laissez-faire approach codified by Cole's memorandum allowed the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana in states to grow without being questioned by the federal government.
. .
