Colorado attracts millions of tourists every year mostly because of ski resorts, touring and outdoor trips. This list has been enlarged by a legalized access to recreational marijuana in January 2014. People from other states can now stop by marijuana dispensary and purchase up to ¼ ounce of retail marijuana at once. According to the Marijuana Policy Group research, out-of-state visitors purchase 44% of metro area retail demand and about 90% of retail demand in mountain counties. This demand from tourists has increased income of Colorado marijuana dispensaries dramatically. However, as there are only 2 states in the US, which legalized marijuana for recreational use, it is hard to judge whether it is good or bad for our society, but its legalization would definitely have a positive impact on the US economy.
History of marijuana legalization in Colorado
The role of marijuana in the US history has been changing a lot: it came all the way from being used as a trading crop and a legitimate medicine to becoming an illegal drug. Cannabis has been outlawed in Colorado since 1917, and then almost a century later it became legal for medical use again in November of 2000, when it was permitted by the Amendment 20 to possess and/or grow marijuana for medical use for patients and caregivers. Qualifying patients had to have identification cards issued by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment based on a doctor 's recommendation. From 2001 to 2008, there were only 5,993
This paper will look at the benefits and drawbacks to legalizing marijuana by looking in at Colorado.The state made forty million dollars by taxed marijuana in 2014 alone, also Colorado saved countless millions because of the extremely lower amounts of marijuana arrest and court cases. It is not clear how having new recreational marijuana stores opening will affect the cannabis market, or businesses expanding around them. Gov. John Hickenlooper says that the economy is thriving with record setting numbers of tourists (73.1 million). 49 percent of those tourist said that legal marijuana influenced their decisions to vacation in Colorado. The ER’s in Colorado have also seen a rise in numbers of marijuana related cases and those cases in non-residents have almost doubled. An unexpected situation that arose from legal cannabis was the amount of electricity that is being use to grow the drug. Some cannabusinesses have to go green with solar or wind power. There are many varying views on the effects of legal marijuana have developed in Colorado since marijuana became legal in 2014.
Christopher Ingraham looks into marijuana’s first year as a business industry in “Colorado’s Legal Weed Market”. In Colorado’s first year of legalization, their recreational dispensaries brought in an estimated $700 million in sales and $63 million in tax revenue (Ingraham). Katie Rucke reports that nearly 10,000 new job opportunities have arisen in “Six Months In, How Has Marijuana Legalization Treated Colorado?” The state’s unemployment rate has dropped down to 6%, one of the lowest rates in the nation, and the lowest it has been in the state since the recession (Rucke). Many jobs created by the
Ferrets are a part of the weasel family. They are closely related to animals like otters, minks, wolverines, and badgers.
Marijuana has earned itself a terrible name over the years. This plant has a long history with humans, from early medical uses to spiritual and even recreational use. In recent years, many states have seen the legalization of marijuana for medical uses. Most large scale experiments have been hindered because of the difficulty of getting experiments involving marijuana approved. Despite this roadblock for the research of marijuana, surveys and observations of the medical use of marijuana show that the plant may have legitimate medical uses. The lack of evidence showing that weed is a dangerous drug also pushes for its legalization for recreational use. Based on all of the evidence about marijuana for recreational and medical use, marijuana
Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, Maine and even the nation’s capital has turned a new leaf and began this transition on marijuana being legal. For example, Marijuana has been legal in Colorado for more than a year. It’s a new industry, so it took some work to get it up and running. So far, Colorado has become the talk of the nation especially being the first state to officially legalize marijuana recreationally, not like other states where it was only legal medically. The rise of marijuana in Colorado has brought in more job opportunities and brought in 44 million dollars in taxes, which still comes 30 million dollar short from what the state expected. Either way, the amount of revenue coming in to the state shows the leverage of a brand new industry and the promise it has in the near future. One big issue still going on is that marijuana is cash business and under federal law, marijuana is still classified as a schedule 1 drug and banks are insured federally. Dispensaries across the U.S are still using personal safes inside their facility to store cash. President of Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Kelly Brough said, “I think we worry about the banking issue. I think it’s a real issue. It’s a cash business which I think can put employees at risk, people around at risk, because that is a lot of cash to be moving around.” Now this could lead to some violence across the state but there
Marijuana is a very controversial topic in today’s society for a lot of different reasons. Much of the country is divided between whether or not the drug should be legalized, and as of today only 8 states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. There is great deal of evidence that proves that legalizing marijuana would be a great move for the United States government such as the numerous health benefits of marijuana, the relative safety of marijuana when compared to other drugs, the immense amount of money the U.S economy could gain through the marijuana industry, the potential billions saved in law
Marijuana is most commercialized drug in the world, so why not just legalize it? Although there are legal restraints against marijuana, 1 in 3 Americans have tried it, out of curiosity at least once. Multiple studies have proven that, marijuana is psychologically and physically healing. Medical marijuana should be legalized for its beneficial advantages, such as, treating or preventing health conditions, increases in tax revenues, and improvements in our communities.
Marijuana is a generally misconstrued substance that most Americans don 't completely get it. The use marijuana as a medication has been widely investigated and turned out to be one of the "most practical and most secure wellsprings of medicinal worth to the numerous Americans experiencing Aids, Glaucoma, Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, and Chronic Pains" (Medical Marijuana). As indicated by the Institute of Medicines, (1999) "cannabis, in its characteristic structure, is one of the most secure remedially dynamic substances known" (Legalization of Marijuana). More assets and contextual investigations will be further examined to move down the case of pot 's therapeutic quality.
What could the United States do with 7.7 billion dollars? What could the state of Kentucky do with 5.3 billion dollars? How could the country even get this much extra money? By legalizing marijuana in the United States we could generate such revenue. There are several benefits to legalizing marijuana, which include stimulating the economy in the United States, helping patients in pain, and eliminating illegal drug use one the streets.
Marijuana usage should be legalized in the state of Georgia. The legalization of marijuana is going faster than many thought possible. Eight states are considering replacing criminal penalties with fines, and are considering decriminalizing possession. Medical marijuana is on the table for seventeen other states also (Ross, J. K. 2014, 05).
Each state has their own regulations and laws about the usage of marijuana. In recent years, many states have passed laws to legalize the usage, purchase, and sale of marijuana. The District of Columbia passed a law to legalize the growth and possession of the drug, but not the sale. Currently, nearly half of the states have legalized the use of medicinal marijuana for patients that qualify for it. However, there is still a federal law prohibiting this drug. These people who have medical reasons and qualify through doctor evaluations, can still face federal offenses even though it is legal in the state. If there is a drug out there to aid people dealing with a disease that could be cured by using this drug why are there so many people against it?
Legalizing the recreational use of marijuana would have many benefits for the United States. This is a very common argument with people of all ages in 2016. Marijuana is a dried bud and leaf from the Cannabis sativa plant, which can grow anywhere in warm, humid weather. This plant also goes by many names, including pot, grass, weed, hemp, hash, ganja, and many others. Many people look at the legalization of marijuana as a way for potheads to smoke without getting busted for it anymore. For this very reason, people want to keep this drug illegal. Marijuana is more than a quick high a quick high at a party. This drug is used for preventing seizures, to cure Glaucoma, and much more. Marijuana will not only benefit the United States for several health reasons but also in the economy. This controlled industry could bring in billions of dollars in tax revenue for federal, state, and local governments. Cannabis could be the next best thing for the U.S.
The police and prosecution are capable of pursuing criminal charges for marijuana possession, however there is a lack of consensus with regard to the legal status of marijuana in Canada. Where the superior and appellate courts in Ontario have declared marijuana laws to be of no force and/or effect and public opinion polls have found an increasing majority of agreement in that marijuana use should not be a criminal offence, Justin Trudeau announced that the possession of marijuana for recreational and medicinal use would be legalized. Taking the form of a federal/provincial/territorial process created to discuss a joint suitable process for the legalization of possession for recreational and medicinal purposes, the plan is to remove marijuana consumption and incidental possession from the Criminal Code. Nevertheless the Liberal governments pledge to legalize marijuana use is a step that raises health, social policy, and criminal justice issues, whilst also encompassing economic and financial impacts. However, the news article “Legal pot revenue could reach $5B a year”, neglects to incorporate many of these themes, focusing strictly on the tax revenues in which Canada 's federal and provincial governments will collect from the sale of legal marijuana.
The legalization of marijuana has been a very controversial issue in America’s society. Many citizens of America are very against the legalization due to false assumptions about the plant. The truth has been in the process of being uncovered for a couple years now but is heavily criticized because of the stereotypical picture of a “pot smoker”. This stereotype has brought years of misinformation and propaganda that comes off as ignorant. Marijuana should be legalized, not only for medical purposes, but for industrial and revenue purposes.
“Since legalization, more people have been visiting Colorado than ever before”(Legality of Marijuana in the United States in 2015). The travel site Hopper.com reported “that flight searches for Denver surged around the time that recreational sales began in January”. Denver International Airport “saw record numbers of incoming passengers in January and in April, a month that included the first 4/20 holiday since pot stores opened”. Although it's not clear how much marijuana has to do with Colorado's increased popularity as a tourist destination, “dispensaries regularly see tourists who are drawn by the novelty of buying pot from friendly and knowledgeable salespeople in clean, well-lit stores ”(Legality of Marijuana in the United States in 2015) instead of getting it off the street on the down low from some dude you barely know. "We've had people book vacations that have never been to Colorado before, and the single reason is because of the freedom that we have here," says Kent McBride, a Denver-area limo driver. Others are "coming back specifically because they can buy cannabis” ”(Legality of Marijuana in the United States in 2015). Tourist say, 'I can't believe I can walk around with up to an ounce of pot and not have to worry about getting busted” ”(Legality of Marijuana in the United States in 2015). "At least once every two weeks there is a bus from Kansas of tourists who come in for the weekend,"