8 Things Which Have Happened Post Legalization Of Cannabis

The legalization of cannabis has long been a bone of contention in the US across federal and state levels. Marijuana prohibition, which began in the early 20th century, lived on for more than half a century before the efforts of cannabis advocates started yielding results and gradual decriminalization of the plant began.

It has only been a couple of decades since the use of medical marijuana became legal, and very recently, that the states of Colorado and Washington legalized the use of recreational marijuana.

As of now, 29 US states have legalized marijuana in various forms, though it continues to remain illegal under the existing federal laws even in the states that have legalized it.

Love it or hate it, there’s no denying the fact that the initiation of legalization of cannabis in the US has had significant effects on the socio-economic dynamics of the nation.

Here are 8 things which have happened post the legalization of cannabis.

1. Tax revenue — The legalization of the cannabis industry has opened up a whole new stream of tax revenue for states. The state of Colorado saw $200 million in tax revenue, as marijuana sales reached a whopping $1.3 billion. Colorado is making good use of the tax money collected, and it can be realised from the fact that it allocated $16 million towards Affordable Housing Grants and Loans.
2. Availability of Medical cannabis — Marijuana is well-known for its therapeutic properties. It can be used to treat glaucoma, control epileptic seizures, prevent cancer from spreading, decrease anxiety and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease among other medical uses. Thanks to the legalization of medical marijuana across a number of states, patients can use marijuana to treat numerous health problems.
3. Loss of business for cross-border trade — Cross-border trade of marijuana has seen a steep fall after legalization. U.S. Border Patrol had seized 2.5 million pounds of cannabis in 2011, and this figure fell to 1.3 million pounds in 2016.
4. Product Regulation — Since marijuana is being sold through legal channels now, there’s an increasing pressure on manufacturers to maintain product quality. Mexican producers are facing tough competition from US production because Mexican marijuana is thought of to be qualitatively inferior to American or Canadian produce.
5. Reduction in levels of crime — Opponents of cannabis legalization had anticipated that the levels of crime would rise if recreational marijuana was legalized. Contrary to that, violent crime rates dropped by 3% in the city and county of Denver during the first 6 months of 2014.
6. Beer sales decline — Beer sales have seen a drop since marijuana legalisation. Domestic brewers like Anheuser Busch-InBev and MilllerCoors have reported a plunge of 4.4% in the sales volume of premium brews like Coors Light and Bud Light and a dip of 2.4% in the regular forms of mainstream beers like Budweiser or Coors.
7. Drop in sales of prescription drugs — It has been observed that in states where marijuana has been legalized, there has been a decline in the number of Medicare prescriptions for drugs for chronic pain, anxiety and depression. Given the increasing price of drugs for commonly occurring problems, the legalization of marijuana has been welcomed by patients.
8. Creation of new jobs — In Colorado, the legalised marijuana industry has already generated more than 18,000 jobs and it is expected to create more than a quarter of a million jobs by 2020! And that’s not all to it, these jobs spell another avenue for tax revenue for the states that chose to legalize.

The legalized marijuana industry is fast establishing itself as a significant contributor to positive socio-economic changes across many states of U.S. Budbo is building a blockchain based supply chain management and data aggregation solution for the cannabis industry. The data aggregated by Budbo about this industry can help cannabis advocates build a stronger case in favour of marijuana legalization across all states of U.S.