The Economic Impact of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana in NY
More and more states in The US are legalizing the use of marijuana for its medical and recreational purposes. New York, however, pertaining to its strong commitment regarding tough drug laws, still hasn’t legalized it for recreational use. In 2014, Governor allowed the use of marijuana for medical purposes in a few hospitals across the state but using marijuana for the recreational purpose still isn’t in the cards. Nearly 40,000 persons were put into jail in 2008 alone for the use of marijuana which depicts New York’s solid commitment to resistance towards recreational marijuana. But, what would be the economic impact of legalizing recreational marijuana in NY?
Having said all this, legalizing recreational marijuana in New York can have far-reaching effects on the already-in-trouble economy of US and can emerge as a potential hero to boost the feeble economy. Not only federal economy but it can also have a sizeable effect on local industries as well. Revenue currently going to a waste for the purpose of law enforcement against weed users and their detention would be avoided hence providing a large amount of money to the state and regional governments.
However, it is quite amusing yet astonishing that a country that allows the use of drugs such as tobacco and alcohol do not allow consumption of marijuana. What’s more fascinating is that prominent political figure including Bush, Clinton and Obama, all have admitted having a pinch of it.
According to a recent report by IBO, estimated revenue from the legalization of marijuana through taxes and other things would be around $25 million. However, workers belonging to the health communities have their reservations about the outreach of the marijuana legalization program, insisting that the low-income people would not be benefitting from the potentially big market.
Due to a huge amount of marijuana trafficking in The US, money gained from the taxation of recreational marijuana would be substantial hence boosting the economy and providing revenue for schools. Contrary to this, some people believe that legalization may result in the decreasing of prices, but experts assure that it won’t be much of a problem since there will be an increase in the consumption of marijuana.
Almost $1 trillion is spent on the law enforcement agencies to deal with the containment of Schedule I drugs including meth, cocaine, heroin and marijuana. As an alternative, the government can spend this huge amount on new initiatives and projects. Besides this, legalization would also cause the amount spent for the regulation of prisons to reduce drastically. According to a rough estimate, of every four people, one is convicted due to the sole reason of involvement with drugs and other illegal narcotics.
Legalization of marijuana will have a significant impact on the local industries and market. The crop of marijuana requires the input of people of all agricultural levels including farmers, dispensaries, and other fertilizer companies etc. as these are the main beneficiaries from the legalization of the drug. Nonetheless, a need to have a regulatory body to overlook marijuana business is a must as the industry has great potential but can be easily exploited if proper rules and regulations aren’t enforced.
[…] he has no issue with using marijuana for medical purposes but he does not think that legalizing recreational marijuana would be a productive decision. That’s why, when it comes to legalizing the use of marijuana in […]