Finance Experts Say That Legalized Marijuana Could Provide Major Boost to Economy
The legalization of marijuana at the federal level could lead to a net return of more than $3 billion in annual tax revenue, according to NerdWallet, the popular personal finance website.
With marijuana being legalized, in form or another, in states across the country, there have been a number of recent media articles analyzing the effectiveness of the war on illegal drugs. For years, marijuana has been largely perceived as a dangerous drug, not unlike cocaine or heroin, due to its criminalized status. Now that the calls for cannabis to be decriminalized in New Jersey and elsewhere are growing louder, there seems to have been a major shift in the public perception of marijuana.
The Motley Fool, a multimedia financial services company, recently published an article listing a number of “unknown facts” about marijuana. The list highlights the dissonance between states that have seen their economies boosted due to legalizing marijuana and states where incarceration rates for low-level drug offenses remain extremely high.
In Colorado, where the recreational use of marijuana was decriminalized at the state level, the legal sale of marijuana has generated almost $1 billion. This includes sales of both recreational marijuana and medical marijuana.
The legalization of pot has provided a significant boost to the Colorado economy by creating jobs and increasing tax revenues. With respect to tax revenue, Colorado collected more than $200 million from marijuana-related taxes in 2014 and 2015. To put that in perspective, this figure represented a higher total than the amount of taxes the state collects from the sale of alcohol. Moreover, much of the tax revenues from legal marijuana sales ultimately get used to finance the public school system.
To learn more about the effects of laws legalizing marijuana, view the Motley Fool article, “4 Marijuana Stats That Will Blow You Away.”
In New Jersey, it is still generally against the law to use marijuana. If you or a loved one has been arrested for simple possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, or any other drug crime, the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Law Offices of John W. Tumelty can assist you. Contact us now to schedule a free consultation about your case.
