By The opinion
08 May 2024, 18:38 PM EDT
Since the sale of cannabis began in 2014 in the states of Colorado and Washington, more than 20 billion dollars in taxes have been generated in the United States, according to an analysis by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) released this Wednesday.
At least 24 of the 50 states in the Union have legalized the possession of cannabis for those over 21 years of age. and the organization, based in Washington DC, states that in just the first quarter of this year those states have collected $4 billion in taxes.
“In many states where the sale and use of marijuana by adults is legal, tax revenues are allocated to social services and programs,” the report added.
According to MPP, this includes funding for education, school construction, public libraries, mental health care, alcohol and drug addiction treatment, military veteran services and job training.
In Colorado, the state with the longest experience in legalizing marijuana, tax revenue in 2014, That is, in the first year of decriminalization coming into force, it was 46.1 million dollars. The accumulated total until 2023 amounts to 2,381 million dollars.
But the increase has not been sustained and Colorado experienced reductions in tax collection, as reflected by the $396 million in 2021, the $305 million in 2022, and the $256 million in 2023.
Factors contributing to that decline include lower prices at the wholesale level, and the fact that the legalization of marijuana in more states has resulted in fewer visits from out-of-state consumers.
“Cannabis legalization offers tremendous financial benefits to state governments and social services and programs,” MPP said.
With the establishment of regulated markets for adult-use cannabis, “State and municipal governments are able to collect sales taxes and benefit economically with the creation of thousands of new jobs“, according to the organization.
Just last April, Joe Biden’s Government announced the historic decision to relax federal restrictions on cannabis, still subject to analysis, The proposal plans to soon announce an interim rule that reclassifies the dangerousness of this drug for the first time since the Controlled Substances Act was passed more than 50 years ago.
It is thus expected that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will approve a ruling from the Department of Health for marijuana to go from level 1, the most strict, to 3, a historic change that would recognize for the first time the possible medical benefits of this substance and could have profound repercussions throughout the country.
The DEA proposal, which has yet to be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the medical use of cannabis and acknowledge that it has less potential for addiction than other dangerous drugs.
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