marijuana legalization Archives - Page 3 of 4 - The Real Dirt with Chip Baker

Marijuana industry expected to add $92 billion to US economy in 2021

by The Real Dirt | May 12, 2021 | 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog, Business, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Culture, Legalization, Medical Marijuana

Marijuana revenue is expected to surpass $90 billion in 2021

From jobs to tax revenue to commercial real estate, the marijuana industry has a large – and growing – impact on the broader economy in the United States.

The total U.S. economic impact from marijuana sales in 2021 is expected to reach $92 billion – up more than 30% from last year – and upwards of $160 billion in 2025, according to analysis from the newly published MJBizFactbook.

To measure the industry’s economic impact, MJBizDaily analyzed similar industries and applied a standard multiplier of 3.5 on projected recreational and medical marijuana retail sales.

The numbers are a best guess because the marijuana industry’s structure is somewhat unique because it encompasses agricultural, manufacturing and retail activity.

The economic impact of the marijuana industry is not the same as supply-chain revenues that are often used to estimate the “total size” of an industry.

Rather, the economic multiplier paints a picture of the impact the industry has on the broader economy.

In this case, for every $1 consumers and patients spend at retail locations, an additional $2.50 will be injected into the economy, much of it at the local level.

That impact comes directly from the day-to-day needs of workers in the cannabis industry, including spending on life’s necessities such as housing, transportation, entertainment and more.

Marijuana businesses, consumers and patients also pay hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local taxes that are used to fund state and local government activities, including schools and roads.

In addition, real estate receives a boost from new retail, manufacturing and agricultural businesses moving into an area or established companies expanding, increasing broader demand for commercial properties.

Cultivating and manufacturing marijuana can require large investments in equipment and technology that boost not only the local economy but also areas throughout the U.S.

The list goes on.

Using the same multiplier methodology can also offer insight into the local-dollar impact from sales of recreational and/or medical marijuana.

The economic impact will vary by state based on the size, maturity and type of market.

For example, as the largest market in the U.S., California’s marijuana industry is expected to pump close to $20 billion into the state’s economy in 2021.

No other state comes close to that amount.

But states such as Colorado, Illinois, Oregon and Washington will provide more than $10 billion each for their local economies in the coming years.

Expect the same for markets in densely populated states such as New Jersey and New York as they develop.

If we consider total population, some states benefit more than others.

Read Full Story on MJ Biz Daily

Alabama Approves Medical Cannabis Legalization

by The Real Dirt | May 7, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Legalization, Medical Marijuana, Politics

Alabama medical marijuana clears state Senate

Alabama lawmakers caved their opposition yesterday and formally approved the state’s medical cannabis legalization bill.

Alabama lawmakers sent a medical cannabis legalization bill to Gov. Kay Ivy (R) on Thursday that will allow qualifying patients to purchase certain forms of cannabis after receiving a doctor’s recommendation, according to the Associated Press.

Although House lawmakers ultimately passed the bill in a 68-36 vote, it was faced by a Republican filibuster, a delay, and finally a two-hour floor debate. The bill then returned to the Senate where it was quickly passed.

Governor spokesperson Gina Maiola said, “We appreciate the debate from the Legislature on the topic. This is certainly an emotional issue. We are sensitive to that and will give it the diligence it deserves.”

Under the law, conditions including cancer, terminal illnesses, chronic pain, depression, epilepsy, and panic disorder will qualify a patient to sign up for the program. The bill will allow patients to purchase pills, skin patches, and creams, but does not allow for the smoking or vaping of medical cannabis products. The legislation was named after Darren Wesley ‘Ato’ Hall, Rep. Laura Hall’s son who died from complications from AIDS.

The bill’s primary sponsor Republican Rep. Mike Ball, who is a former state trooper and state investigator, gave emotional testimony on the House floor.

“Every year that we delay getting help to people who need it, there are more people and more people who are suffering because of it. We’ve still got another year or so before this gets set up and cranked up, but at least we have hope now.” — Rep. Mike Ball

Former state Rep. Patricia Todd — who introduced Alabama‘s first medical cannabis bill in 2013 that would later receive a Shroud Award, an award given to bills deemed the least likely to pass — said she was happy the reforms had finally passed.

“They laughed at me,” she remembered. “I’m glad to see it passed. It’s long overdue.”

Original Story from Ganjapreneur

Alabama House takes no vote on medical marijuana after 9-hour debate

by The Real Dirt | May 6, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Legalization, Medical Marijuana, Politics

Alabama medical marijuana fails to pass in the House

Republicans in the Alabama House of Representatives blocked a vote tonight on a bill to legalize, regulate, and tax medical marijuana.

The House adjourned at 11:43 p.m. after debating the legislation more than nine hours. They will return at 8 a.m. Thursday.

“I hope and pray that we take up where we’re at and we stay with this until we get an up or down vote,” Rep. Mike Ball, R-Madison, the House sponsor of the bill, said. “And I think you can see from the votes so far that there is a huge amount of support in this body, bipartisan support.”

Ball was referring to procedural votes on the bill today that passed by wide margins. But the final vote did not come tonight.

House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, said tonight as he left the chamber that the House would return to the medical marijuana bill Thursday morning. McCutcheon said he expects there will be a vote Thursday.

The speaker said the House on Thursday will also consider the bills to allow a lottery and six new casinos in Alabama. Those bills were approved in a committee Tuesday. The key bill in the three-bill package is a constitutional amendment that would require approval by voters in November 2022.

The final vote on medical marijuana never came tonight because a handful of lawmakers made repeated trips to the mic to delay it. McCutcheon said there was not enough support to pass a petition for cloture, which would have cut off the debate. The Republican majority has used cloture petitions to end Democratic filibusters during this session, but in this case would have been shutting off a filibuster by Republicans.

Still, the medical marijuana bill is closer than ever come to becoming law. It has passed the Senate three times but has never come up for a vote in the House.

Several Republican lawmakers opened the debate today by expressing staunch opposition to medical marijuana, saying it would move the state in the wrong direction and they were surprised it was being considered in Alabama.

But the bill cleared a procedural motion that was necessary for the debate to continue. The vote was 69-31. Another procedural vote passed 71-20. The debate continued after that until the House adjourned.

The legislation would set up a system to regulate the production and use of medical cannabis products from the cultivation of the plants to the sales of products at dispensaries.

Doctors could recommend medical marijuana for more than a dozen symptoms and conditions, including chronic pain, nausea and weight loss from cancer, seizure disorders, PTSD, muscle spasms from certain diseases, and others.

The bill, by Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, has already passed the Senate. Melson, a physician and medical researcher, said the 69-31 procedural vote was a strong sign that the House would pass the bill tonight.

“I have no doubt that it’s going to pass if it’s given a vote,” Melson said.

Read Full Story from AL.com

6 Surprising Facts about Americans and Cannabis [Pew Research]

by The Real Dirt | Apr 27, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Culture, Hemp, Legalization, Medical Marijuana, Politics

cannabis growers face a few different issues in the grow

Marijuana is illegal under federal law, but a growing number of states have legalized the drug for medical or recreational purposes in recent years. The changing legal landscape has coincided with a dramatic increase in public support for legalization, which is favored by a majority of Americans.

Here are six facts about Americans and marijuana.

1. Around nine-in-ten Americans favor some form of marijuana legalization

According to an April 2021 Pew Research Center survey. An overwhelming majority of U.S. adults (91%) say either that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use (60%) or that it should be legal for medical use only (31%). Just 8% say the drug should not be legal in any form.

2. Public support for marijuana legalization differs widely by age and party.

Older adults are far less likely than younger ones to support marijuana legalization for both recreational and medical uses, according to the April 2021 survey. For instance, just 32% of adults ages 75 and older say marijuana should be legal for recreational and medical use, by far the lowest share for any age category. By contrast, seven-in-ten adults under the age of 30 favor legalization for medical and recreational use.

Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are more likely than Republicans and GOP leaners to support the legalization of marijuana for both purposes (72% vs. 47%).

3. There has been a dramatic increase in public support for marijuana legalization in the last two decades.

In addition to asking about the medical and recreational use of marijuana, the Center has also asked Americans a more general question about legalizing marijuana. In 2019, the last time the Center asked that question, two-thirds of adults expressed support for marijuana legalization, more than double the share who said so in 2000.

4. Supporters and opponents of marijuana legalization cite different reasons for their views.

Americans who favor legalization are most likely to point to the drug’s perceived medical benefits or to say it would free up law enforcement to focus on other types of crime; 86% and 70%, respectively, say these are very important reasons for their support, according to a Gallup survey conducted in spring 2019.

Among Americans who oppose marijuana legalization, 79% say a very important reason is that it would increase the number of car accidents involving drivers who use marijuana. Around seven-in-ten (69%) say a very important reason is that legalization would lead to more people using stronger and more addictive drugs.

5. Fewer than half (46%) of U.S. adults say they have ever used marijuana

According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. That is lower than the shares who say they have ever consumed alcohol (80%) or ever used tobacco products (61%).

While many Americans say they have ever used cannabis, far fewer are current users, according to the same 2019 survey: 18% of U.S. adults say they have used marijuana over the past year, while 11% say they have used the drug over the past month.

6. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have legalized small amounts of marijuana for adult recreational use as of April 2021

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This spring, New Mexico, New York and Virginia became the most recent states to do so. Overall, 43% of U.S. adults now live in a jurisdiction that has legalized the recreational use of marijuana at the local level, according to 2019 population estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. Guam, a U.S. territory, legalized the recreational use of marijuana in 2019, and the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth, did so in 2018.

Three dozen states, as well as D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, have approved some form of a medical marijuana program. Numerous states have also enacted laws reducing criminal penalties for certain marijuana-related convictions or allowing past convictions to be expunged.

Note: This is an update of a post originally published in November 2014.

Research and Article from Pew Research

Montana Marijuana Legalization Bill Passes in Senate

by The Real Dirt | Apr 26, 2021 | 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Legalization, Politics

Montana marijuana legalization implementation passes through the senate

Tax revenue from marijuana sales is estimated to be more than $48 million annually by 2025

HELENA – The Montana Senate on Friday passed a bill to implement a recreational marijuana program in the state, which would reserve tax revenue from sales for addiction treatment and statewide conservation efforts.

Voters approved a ballot measure last year to legalize recreational marijuana sales. The ballot measure also sought to divert a significant portion of tax revenue toward conservation efforts.

The bill passed out of the House earlier this month along party lines, with House Democrats united in their opposition to the measure, which did not follow the voter-approved revenue plan. But a Senate committee amended the bill to track more closely to what is included in the ballot measure, earning the support of most Senate Democrats.

The bill passed the Senate with a 34-16 vote. It next heads back to the House, which will vote on the Senate amendments.

As outlined in the bill, recreational marijuana sales would be taxed at a rate of 20%. Of the state revenue generated by sales, $6 million annually would go towards a drug addiction treatment program backed by Gov. Greg Gianforte; 20% would go toward conservation efforts; 4% or up to $650,000 each would go to state parks, trails and recreational facilities, and wildlife protection; up to $200,000 would go to veterans services and improving veterans’ cemeteries; $300,000 would go toward a one-time purchase of drug detection canines; $150,000 would fund a one-time police training; and the remaining money would enter the state’s general fund.

Tax revenue from marijuana sales is estimated to be more than $48 million annually by 2025.

The original ballot measure directed 10.5% of revenue towards the state general fund, with the rest for conservation programs, substance abuse treatment, veterans’ services, health care costs and localities where marijuana is sold.

Under the plan, in counties that voted in favor of the ballot measure, recreational marijuana sales would be automatically legalized. But in counties where the ballot measure did not pass, voters would have to separately approve recreational marijuana sales to opt-in to the program.

The plan also includes a provision under which those serving sentences for illegal marijuana possession in the state could apply for their convictions to be expunged.

The state’s eight federally-recognized Native American tribes would receive sales licenses, which could be used within 150 miles (241 kilometers) of a reservation. Because recreational marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, sales remain prohibited on reservations, which are governed by federal law. Native American lawmakers advocated for the provision in the bill, saying it would allow them to benefit financially from legalization.

“It’s going to allow them to get into the game finally,” said Sen. Jason Small, a Republican and a member of the Northern Cheyenne Nation who carried the bill on the Senate floor.

The measure includes a clause that would nullify the law if the ballot measure is found to be illegal. Several Republican lawmakers have said they object to legalization and have floated the possibility of challenging the ballot measure in court.

“Whether or not deep down inside you want to see this marijuana industry happen in Montana, the fact of the matter is it’s been voted on, it’s going to happen,” Small said.