Thursday, November 17, 2016

Changes in America: The Marijuana Revolution

Changes in America: The Marijuana Revolution
By Adam Immel


Over the past 20 years, the United States has slowly transitioned into a much more liberal and progressive stance of one particular drug; Marijuana is slowly being reassessed from the once extremely potent and radical gateway drug it was perceived as for decades, and is now in much more positive light, mostly in thanks to the medical benefits that an estimated 1.4 million have utilized. More recently, states are now legalizing Cannabis for recreational use, beginning with Colorado passing Colorado Amendment 64 by vote in 2012 (officially legalized in 2014). After subsequent votes in midterms, odd years, and the recent election date on November 8th, America now has 8 states and Washington D.C. with complete legalization, and there’s only more to come. Obviously, it seems that in order for legalization to occur, more than the consumer will benefit. With the decriminalization of Cannabis on the rise, one might want to review the effects on state economies and revenue generated for local governments.

In similar fashion to Tobacco products, local state governments are benefitting from Cannabis sale thanks to taxation. In this report, we will use Colorado as our exemplified state. This state has imposed a 2.9% sales tax on both medical and recreational Marijuana. Since legalization, the results and revenue generated due to the popularity of the product have been astounding.
colorado-tax-revenue-from-marijuana-sales_large.PNG

In a fiscal period that ended on June 30th, 2015, Marijuana tax revenue was at $70,000,000, which was almost double revenue from Alcohol (42 million dollars in same period). And serving as a reminder, Colorado isn’t the only one reaping the benefits. Washington state has seen extremely similar results, and now that California is completely in the game, their enormous economy is only bound to grow. These states GDP is only bound to grow now that a new industry is rising.

Additionally, it’s important to see what fields of funding state governments are aiding with all this money. In the state of Colorado, the generated revenue is being properly allocated to different departments, but the main focus in this state is to benefit the development of schools and education. As described in a government report issued in July of 2015, the first $40 million in excise tax generated was allocated towards the BEST fund, which was created to renew or replace deteriorating public schools. The combined taxes then go on to impact various departments, including the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, the Department of Human Services, and others.

For Prohibitionists, it’s been hard to find a point to argue the negatives to the Marijuana Revolution. Many argued that crime rate would increase, but in the first 4 years in Colorado, that has not been the case. It’s important to understand that the values of American citizens are changing, and that this change in view of individual liberties must also be seen as a gateway towards economic reliefs for governments. If the felony for Marijuana possession were to be lifted, and the Union became completely in accord with legalization, one can imagine the benefits that could be reaped, based upon the changes experienced by progressive states.


Works Cited


"Colorado Now Reaping More Tax Revenue From Pot Than From Alcohol." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.

Maxfield, John. "These 3 Charts Show Why More States Will Soon Legalize Marijuana." The Motley Fool. N.p., 1970. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.

Sullum, Jacob. "Early Lessons From Marijuana Legalization in Colorado." Reason.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.


"Colorado Council ISSUE BRIEF Staff." N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.

20 comments:

  1. I found this article super interesting because of the almost astounding positive effects of legalization for both the economy and people's well being. It makes me wonder why it is not legal nationwide already after showing these trends in all the legalized states. Not only does this generate a massive amount of revenue for locals and states by taxation, but it also creates more business opportunities and careers for those who want to enter the cannabis industry. The marginal benefit definitely outweighs the marginal cost in this case because there really isnt a cost in the first place. The benefits of legalization expand beyond that, allowing those with marijuana criminal charges to not be affected by their record and get more jobs and income, decreasing medical costs as a cheap alternative to pharmaceuticals and expensive procedures, lowering the crime rate, and cutting down spending in federal enforcement and prison by a large amount, seeing as a majority of the prison population and arrests made are due to marijuana. With this legalization, people in these areas are bound to be happier due to their new freedom and government and officials can also be satisfied too as they reap the economic benefits of legal marijuana taxation. So really, there are no negative externalities to this legalization and I look forward to see how these results of legalization will affect the stance on marijuana as an entire nation.

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  2. I whole-heatedly agree with your article. There are tremendous benefits to be reaped by the legalization, regulation and taxation of cannabis products. For example we can use the funds to provide more education, regulate the markets, and other societal necessities. In addition minority communities won't be as negatively affected by police polices which target their communities. I say this as more minorities are arrested for marijuana possession than whites despite both doing drugs at similar rates. These people who aren't in prison will be a boon to society as they can be more productive and either save or spend their money in the markets. This will also cost the state less as they don't have to provide for prisoners.

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  3. First off I love your title, it really makes it sound like a documentary. Secondly I love how you brought such a heated debate into the simplistic limelight by explaining the good it can do. IT is amazing to see that someone actually took the time to research instead of just saying that “weed is a good thing so we should like totally legalize it”. Now if I were to add something to this, I’d add a youtube video that came out yesterday (11-17-2016) from the show “Adam Ruins Everything” where the segment was about the legalization of marijuana. And in that video you learn a lot about how it was only legalized because of dumb reasons. Now with the chart that you provided, I really enjoy that it shows how good the benefits are to legalizing the drug because it does mean a lot more money for the state because people will no longer need to make illegal deals.

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  4. I like that you brought out the economical possibilities that legalizing cannabis can have because I feel that most people don't think about the economical stand point of the situation. But I would like to make a point that while it may be a positive thing for the economy it is also has an extremely positive medical effect. It has been proven that cannabis use can help many clinical conditions that people struggle with every day (such as minimizing seizures and Parkinson's disease). I strongly agree that the legalization of marijuana would be beneficial to the economy. overall.

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  5. When reading this article, I loved how you stated your opinion, but backed it up with facts. There are a lot of good facts in here that outweigh the cons of legalizing weed, which I don't even think there are any. One question I have is, would people still have to be drug tested for jobs if it's legal? I agree with this whole article overall because there isn't any harm in smoking weed. You don't harm others, you don't harm yourself, and you don't act stupid in public like most people do when they're drunk. This was a very well written article!

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  6. There are definitely some economic benefits to legalizing marijuana throughout the United States. It could definitely add some economic stimulation and might even help further decrease the unemployment rate. It might also help with decreasing the crime rate since the production of marijuana would be be legalized. Obviously marijuana could help grow our economy, but it does come down to what is the best for US citizens overall well being and it will be interesting to see how states either change or keep their same stance on the issue.

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  7. I feel like more attention needs to be brought to the benefits to legalizing cannabis and how it can positively impact a society. Many people are against the substance purely out of fear of the unknown and information that isn't accurate. Although cannabis is somewhat addictive, so is alcohol and cigarettes. Cannabis is far less harmful than either of those substances, Alcohol can lead to rape, violence and alcohol poisoning. While cigarettes can lead lung problems and even cancer. Another benefit is that cannabis is a helpful medical substance that can help people who suffer from seizures depression and anxiety. I feel that this is a good cause and needs to be further looked into.

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  9. A lot of times, we see the debate of marijuana legalization as a moral issue, so it was really interesting to see it argued by an economic standpoint. There is still a large part of our nation's population that believes marijuana use can lead to reckless behavior and crime (which can be true), but a lot of those same people would be against prohibition of alcohol. In my mind, marijuana and alcohol are one in the same. . .both have the potential to be addicting and lead to dangerous behavior. I think it would be hypocritical to be supportive of the use of one drug and not the other. As you mentioned, the legalization can lead to a decrease in crime and government revenue. I am curious to see if other states will start debating over the legalization issue now that they see the benefits Colorado has gained from the excise tax revenue and how this has lead to increased funding in education.

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