Is Legal Marijuana a Cash Cow for the US?
Is legalizing marijuana going to be a cash cow for the United States? Many users and supporters in general say yes…while decenters claim that more money will be spent on the after effects. Sure enough, however, no matter which side you fall on opinion wise, it appears that, to some degree, cannabis may be a nice little influx of tax dollars for most states.
The question of whether or not marijuana sales might bring in money is one that has been tossed around for some time now. Currently there are a number of state governments considering it as their budget woes grow. Because there appears to be money made, many feel that the concept of marijuana use is becoming tolerated for the sake of cash flow. Supporters refer to marijuana as “the largest cash crop in the United States” since corn hit it big. Currently the numbers support that it could well be a cash cow with an estimated $15 billion to $30 billion garnished by the “industry” in the U.S. today.
The bottom line is that marijuana is already everywhere. According to statistics, 4 in 10 Americans say they’ve tried it. Polls tout that over 17 million people say they’ve used it in the past month. Lawmakers and money consultants are amazed at the way the numbers play out. If you are keeping track, that is approximately 5.5% of the nation’s population already using.
According to current surveys attitudes are changing as well. Polls show that 50% of Americans think that marijuana should be legal and 18 states now allow medical marijuana use. Many equate the current battle to legalize marijuana with Prohibition. During prohibition alcohol was the perceived evil and the very same battle took place to legalize it. Prohibition ended with the 1929 crash and the Depression. It may well be an economic downturn that gives marijuana the show it needs into the legal realm as well. After the 21st Amendment was ratified in 1933, repealing the ban on booze alcohol taxes made up 9% of the federal revenue. It all came down to the money and many supporters of legalizing cannabis believe it will go the same this time.
So what are we talking about in terms of dollars? That’s not an easy question to answer. There is no case study where marijuana is legally sold to help determine what kind of numbers could come in so all anyone has to go on is estimates based on illegal sales. Studies have shown however that the savings to law-enforcement could be as high as $8.7 billion a year. This includes all of the costs associated with arresting, detaining and prosecuting users. No matter how you crunch the numbers, the bottom line appears to be that legalizing marijuana will net an amazing about of tax dollars as well as money saved when police are no longer chasing down the guy who is stoned.
Article Source : http://washington.themarijuanahookup.com/marijuana-could-become-cash-cow/
About The Author :
Jim Richard has been involved in the Medical Marijuana Industry in various ways from a active grower, Marijuana Dispensary web designer and active Washington State Marijuana activist. The Marijuana Hookup is his latest creation to connect medical patients with quality medical marijuana.
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