The pro-cannabis community and organizations have eagerly awaited a time like this history - a time where the majority of the states in the United States have at least some form of medical marijuana available to the public by means of medical marijuana programs or recreational usage. With each state that passes new legislation allowing the use of marijuana, we edge closer and closer to having a federal bill passed that legalizes cannabis for everyone in the United States. While it may seem like a long shot to some people, I actually have a few things to talk about that will help you see it may be closer than we think. Afterall, both our neighboring nations (Canada and Mexico) have federally legalized weed, so it only makes sense that America has its turn coming up soon. A whole lot can change in the next 5 years, so I think that it is best if we stay diligent and patient to see what happens with lawmakers and the idea of federally legal cannabis.
It almost sounds too good to be true, but there is still a lot to think about when it comes to the idea of weed being legalized. What kind of impact would that have on our healthcare systems? What about our economy? How would it affect crime rates and incarceration rates in the United States prison system? Would prisoners be able to be freed if they were arrested for using or possessing marijuana? The whole thing leaves a lot of questions left unanswered. The important thing to keep in mind is that we have to remain patient and hope that our current administration will make some more pressing decisions. In the meantime, we can sit back in speculation as to what a federal legalization of cannabis might mean for us in the United States.
When I think of cannabis reform in the United States, one of the things that comes into my mind is pricing of weed throughout our country. Some of you that may be reading this might be thinking that weed isn’t really all that expensive right now compared to what it used to be. However, there are certain places in the United States where weed is so insanely expensive you almost would not be able to believe it. A lot of the reason for this is because of government regulations curbing the amount of dispensaries that are able to operate in one area. WIthout any competition, patients have nowhere else to go. This means that some dispensaries can just charge whatever the heck they want and consumers just have to deal with it. If weed was legalized on a federal level, we would begin to see much more competition with the cannabis industry, and this would result in prices being driven back down to what the market would deem as appropriate. In some areas, the price of cannabis would probably not change all that much. In others, the difference would be light night and day. If you are living in a place where cannabis is not very affordable, I am really sorry for you. Hopefully we can all see a day where this country fully accepts and allows marijuana.
Another thing that would happen if the federal government legalized weed is that there would be a great influx of tax revenue generated from the new marijuana programs. If you have never actually seen some of the revenue that states are raking in from their marijuana programs, I highly suggest looking into it (I’ve written about it before). It is no secret that the United States is in a bit of money trouble (to put it lightly). The U.S. federal government would see billions of dollars come into their pockets just from taxes related to growing, manufacturing, distributing, and selling cannabis in the country.
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