As business continues to grow in the legal marijuana sector, there are many aspects to consider for the overall push towards federal legalization. The numbers keep rolling in, and you’d be hard pressed to argue that the marijuana industry isn’t one of the fastest growing industries in the country right now. Ever since the inception of recreational sales started back in 2012 (Colorado and Washington leading the way), the now 7 legal states and Washington DC have record numbers of sales and they just keep rising. California in the lead with $2.75 billion in sales, and Colorado with $1.56 Billion showing the rest of the country the true potential of what legal cannabis can do in terms of revenue gains. Yes, these numbers are impressive, but what else can this market do? More than just state revenue, we can dig deeper and see the benefits such as how small towns in legal states get back on their feet, the rise in jobs and personal income because of the industry, investment opportunities for the business say, and legal issues and changes happening in these states as well.
Resurgence of small town America
It’s not just the big cities like Denver and Los Angeles reaping the rewards of this new “green rush”. A surprising amount of small towns in legal states are seeing a resurgence in revenue and helping them bounce back from the economic downfall in 2008. Towns in Colorado like Pueblo, Sedgwick, and Trinidad have all seen a miracle rebirth, in some cases saving the town as a whole. A reason why these towns are seeing such great results lies heavily on the geographical location, all being border towns.
One case in particular being Huntington, Oregon where one dispensary has more customers than they do population. many of which coming from the neighbor state of Idaho where cannabis is still illegal. Look at Pueblo, Colorado as well. For quite some time, Pueblo has had one of the highest unemployment rates in the state, but has now seen a surge of jobs because of legalization weather it be jobs directly in the industry, or construction jobs to support the industries growth. A stand out benefit that Pueblo county is implementing is using a huge portion of sales revenue to create scholarships to send high school kids to local universities. What a way to recirculate the revenue whilst helping the community!
Job and wage growth
After seeing what can happen in just the small sleepy towns of America, what do you thing the job market would look like countrywide after federal legalization? After New Frontier Data took some time to look at the marijuana sector, they deduced a projected number of $132 billion in tax revenue and over a million jobs would be created in the next decade if it were federally legal. Of course this is just a prediction, but anything even close to this would be nothing short of spectacular for the countries population. Where would these jobs come from? The obvious being anywhere from cultivation, transportation and retail stores which are already a well established job market, but the potential for new jobs is huge. Once this market is taken more seriously, it can be seen just as any other big business opportunity creating jobs for marketing, consulting, and anything in the world of finance.
Investment Opportunities
Speaking of finance, there has already been a great opportunity for investment within legal cannabis. Look at Canada with their newly country wide legalization, even people outside of the countries population are making a profit after investing in weed stocks. People who invested in stock such as Aurora Cannabis and Canopy Growth before the legalization are now raking it in so to speak. Although the stock investments are still very new and sometimes questionable, it’s just like anything new, there are going to be some things to learn and adjustments to make in order for the full benefits to be seen. If Canada is the guinea pig for us to watch, imagine what we can do with weed stocks here in the states! The thought of future potential is intriguing and down right exciting. Because marijuana is still federally illegal, business can’t be traded in stocks and everyone is missing out on the huge opportunity at hand.
Medical Benefits
While there has been much debate to how extensive a roll cannabis plays in the medical world, it’s hard to completely ignore the “miracles” seen as of late, especially with CBD. CBD (or cannabidiol) is an active ingredient in the cannabis plant separate from THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the latter being responsible for the actual psychoactive “high” felt by the consumer. While both parts of the plant contain medicinal properties, CBD has seen a huge surge lately in treatments, especially those such as epilepsy. Videos are all over the internet of people with this debilitating disease taking a few liquid drops of CBD orally, and the soothing effects set in almost instantaneously, practically ending the seizure right away. Other ailments known to be treated by CBD include: alzheimer's, parkinson’s, depression, anxiety, and joint pain. So why isn’t this miracle drug being prescribed, especially when it clearly a safe alternative to opioids that are causing a huge epidemic in this country as we speak?
If we were to federally legalize cannabis, the studies of this plant could be funded and the treatments would multiply. Cure for cancer? Help veterans with PTSD without the use of deadly opioids? Reduce and treat the seizures brought on by epilepsy? The list goes on and on, while we continue to deprive people of a natural, healthy alternative medicine.