Why Marijuana Should Be Legalized

Legalizing Marijuana: The Upcoming Economic Effects 

 legalization directly and positively impacts the economy of the affected region. California in the US, whose cannabis market is worth a reported $8.5 billion  recent stats show that the state of California actually has the biggest regulated cannabis market in the world,  since the legalization of cannabis for adult recreational use, the industry has multiplied in a relatively short period of time, and is projected to see an annual growth rate of $23.1% per annum between 2018 and 2020. By the end of that period, the regulated industry is set to be worth $6.5 billion or more

59% of marijuana sales in the state of Colorado can be attributed to marijuana that was purchased for recreational use, and industry sales in this state also grew by 42.2% from the year 2014 to 2015, while significantly reducing the amount of income generated by the marijuana black market.  marijuana industry in Colorado has exceeded the growth of large industries like multi-unit residential construction and sports and performing arts venues, and all of this within the second year of legalization.

How Legalizing Marijuana for Recreational Use Can Affect Medical Marijuana 

Another benefit to legalizing marijuana is that it’s going to encourage more studies and research to be done in order to establish many of the claimed benefits of this product, which is very important considering the fact that marijuana is one of the most under-researched drugs in the world.  Currently, Israel is the front-runner when it comes to marijuana research, as the country boasts more than 100 on-going studies on the effectiveness and safety of marijuana use for a number of medical issues. This has led to exponential foreign and US investment to the tune of $100 million.

However, the US is slowly but surely catching up, having legalized marijuana for medical use in 28 of its states, while recreational use has been approved in 8 additional states including Washington DC.

 The economic benefits of legalization are also trickling down to the people in the form of jobs, as the cannabis sector is not only one of the fastest growing in the US, but employs 100,000 people and growing.

Check out some of the unique job positions created by the growth of the marijuana industry:

 ● Master Grower - Following a specialized grow schedule, the master grower manages the process of designing and building the grow operation while ensuring that daily records for lighting and chemicals are kept up to date.
● Trimmer/Cultivation Site Worker - As the title implies, the trimmers make sure that the marijuana plants are properly trimmed and maintained in preparation for production.
● Budtender Dispensary Agent - This agent has to be very knowledgeable about different marijuana strains and their effects on various health ailments.
● Extractor - The extractor produces concentrates or hash using marijuana, which means that they have to know a great deal about the technical process involved and which safety measures to take.
● Cultivation Supervisor - This person acts as a supervisor for the growing and trimming process of the marijuana plants.
● Cannabis Chef - The cannabis chef is a master at making cannabis-infused foods that taste great.
● Dispensary Manager – The dispensary manager is the crossing point between different stakeholders such as the staff, landlord, vendors and law enforcement. Their job also involves maintaining proper records, training workers, organizing dispensary transactions, communicating with grow sites, educating the patients, understanding the marketing side and keeping up with the marijuana state laws.
● Lab Workers - The lab workers are there to test the products before they go out into the market, to ensure that they don’t have any heavy metals or pesticides that might be harmful to consumers while making sure that they have the right cannabinoid quantities of THC and CBD.
● Marketing/Sales Associates - This team is responsible for marketing the brand through various means, creating logos and generating sales.
● Security - Security guards have to stay on-site to ensure the safety and security of the employees and patients. It’s also their duty to go with the dispensary manager to the bank when they make cash deposits.
● Delivery Driver - The driver should not only know how to drive but must have good communication skills because they’ll be the ones to deliver the product to the patients.

Aphria, currently one of the biggest suppliers of legal marijuana in Canada that’s licensed by the federal government, is looking to expand its operations 1 million feet of growing space in order to produce 20,000 pounds of marijuana per year.

 All of this expansion is in preparation for the demand that’ll come from the legalisation of recreational marijuana later on this year, as the cannabis market is expected to reach $12 to $22 billion annual growth as a whole, which is not surprising considering that Canadians spent over $5 billion on marijuana in 2017