What was strictly forbidden and punished by the law several decades ago nowadays becomes a part of Americans everyday life. This refers to the flourishing process of marijuana legalization we are witnessing. As of today, 11 states and Washington, D.C have legalized cannabis for recreational or adult use. Another 22 states, along with the U.S. territories Guam and Puerto Rico, have approved weed for medical use. Although weed is lawful in 33 states and territories in some form, selling, purchasing, storage, transportation, and pot consumption remains federally illegal.
We are going to take a look at the marijuana legalization process, its prospects and consequences.
Legalization vs. Decriminalization
First of all, let's determine the difference between these two measures. Decriminalization is expressed in mitigating a degree of criminal punishment for the personal use of marijuana. If take a look at marijuana adoption chronicles one will see that weed was firstly decriminalized by Oregon as far back as the year 1973. Over the next 15 years, nearly a dozen states followed Oregon's example and decriminalized pot.
Although legislation regulates cannabis was relaxed by decriminalization, cultivation, selling and many other weed-related activities remain federally illegal. Today, states have legalized marijuana for recreational use (11 states) or for medical purposes (22 states). Fresh regulations still need to be developed to eliminate such comic situations that, for example, occurred recently in Pleasant Hill where the City Council allows delivery only services and bans any other forms of marijuana commercial business.
Supporters and Opponents
Throughout the long-standing process of weed legalization, various social and political groups acted in favor of cannabis adoption as well as against it.
Among the biggest weed advocates, one can name
- National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws — one of the most influential agitating movements for cannabis since 1970.
- Marijuana Policy Project — fighting for the legalization of medical weed.
- Drug Policy Alliance — organization promoted the adoption of recreational cannabis in Colorado and California.
On the other hand, there have always been those who tried to prevent federal weed legalization:
- Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
- Drug-Free America Foundation.
There were also those who have changed their minds:
- In the year 2016, Insys Therapeutics donated half of a million to prevent the legalization of recreational pot in Arizona. A year later the same company releases a cannabinoid-based drug, Syndros.
As you can see, the situation is quite tense. Despite all the obstacles, cannabis steadily comes into the lives of Americans and brings various benefits along.
New job market
As of today, the cannabis industry has created over 200,000 full-time working places and deserved a title of the greatest job creation machine in the United States. Till the end of 2019, the projected increase in the number of people involved in marijuana is expected to be 20%. Weed industry offers a variety of job opportunities from an internship to starting your own business, it is available for anyone at any age.
Tax revenue
One of the major incentives for states to legitimize pot is generous tax revenues. Needless to say, it is very difficult to assess the prospects of the young and growing market. Therefore, the state budget should not depend entirely on cannabis taxation. But do not underestimate this source of income. So in Colorado, where recreational weed sales begin in 2014, profit from the marijuana taxation reached $1 million this year.
Investment opportunities
Investing in cannabis is a great chance to benefit from a young and growing market. Last year, more than $13 billion were invested in MJ stocks. As of today, the compound annual growth rate of the weed industry is about 27% and an average deal is estimated at $23 million. Companies list their stocks on two main American exchanges: the NYSE and the Nasdaq. There are also two major cannabis Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs): the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF and the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF.
Medical&Recreational benefits
Medical weed is gaining popularity as a treatment of choice. It can be used for pain management in frames of chronic diseases therapy. Marijuana is also a good alternative to opioids as it eliminates pain just as effectively but has no harmful side effects. Cannabis is not only a well-known painkiller but used for coping with a wide list of chronic illnesses and painful symptoms as HIV/AIDS, cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, mental health disorders, multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms, inflammation, nausea, etc. Marijuana legalization allows qualified patients to get the right level of treatment. Recreational cannabis users will also benefit from the adoption of marijuana on a federal level. People consume weed and cannabis-infused products to get rid of anxiety, insomnia and just feel relaxed.
Safety issue
The legal status of cannabis provides consumers with safe and tested products. We can already observe a decrease in trading volumes on the black market. More and more states enact legislation excusing drug-related crimes. This is especially true of crimes for possession or transportation of marijuana.
Legalization of cannabis is an irreversible process that is gaining momentum day by day. The level of public perception rises and drug regains its good reputation. The benefits of weed adoption are obvious: new ventures create working places and bring large profits to the local budgets; it's a fresh and prospective market for investments; marijuana become a treatment of choice for many patients straggling from chronic pain and other qualifying conditions and a nice way to get relaxed at the same time; drug legalization raises production standards and lowers black market activity.
Marijuana will be federally legal, it's only a matter of time. Meantime, we offer you to subscribe to our newsletter and follow all the latest cannabis news and trends together!