GateHouse Media
October 16, 2020
There is a “green wave” sweeping the country. Ballot
initiatives in Arizona, New Jersey, South Dakota and Montana are seeking to
legalize marijuana for recreational use.
Don’t be fooled, the green does not represent
marijuana - it represents money. More and more states are legalizing marijuana,
not because there has been a massive shift in public sentiment on marijuana
use, but because states can raise revenue from marijuana sales.
Ever since Colorado and Washington became the first
two states to approve marijuana legalization in 2012, nine states and three
territories have joined them including Alaska, California, Illinois, Maine,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, the District of Columbia, the
Mariana Islands and Guam. Another 16 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands have
decriminalized marijuana and 33 states allow medical marijuana use.
It was not long ago that gambling was illegal
everywhere outside of Nevada. Today, you can bet inside some ballparks while
games are in progress - try justifying that to Pete Rose or the descendants of
Shoeless Joe Jackson. Why? States have made about $1.8 trillion in tax revenue
from gambling.
How much tax revenue can marijuana generate?
Legalizing marijuana nationwide would create at
least $132 billion in tax revenue and more than a million new jobs across the
United States in the next decade, according to a new study by New Frontier
Data. The marijuana industry could create an entirely new tax revenue stream
for the government, generating millions of dollars in sales tax and payroll
deductions.
The analysis shows, according to the Washington
Post, that if marijuana were fully legal in all 50 states, it would create at
least a combined $131.8 billion in federal tax revenue through 2025.
What is on the ballot for Nov. 3?
In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy made a campaign
promise to legalize marijuana suggesting that legislation could generate
hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue.
New Jersey’s Public Question No. 1 would legalize
marijuana for adults 21 and older. The sale of recreational marijuana products
would be subject to the state’s 6.2% sales tax.
New Jersey first legalized medical marijuana and is
now taking on recreational marijuana. South Dakota is going straight to
recreational marijuana.
Measure 26 would establish a medical marijuana program
and registration system for people with qualifying conditions, as well as on
Amendment A, which would legalize marijuana for all adults. According to the
Argus Leader a majority of South Dakotans support the measure.
In Arizona, where four years ago residents narrowly
defeated an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana, the issue is back on
the ballot.
Proposition 207 is structured similarly to 2016′s
measure. It would allow adults to possess, consume or transfer up to 1 ounce of
marijuana and create a regulatory system for the products’ cultivation and
sale.
According to CNN, recreational sales in Arizona
could total more than $700 million by 2024.
In Montana policymakers expect recreational
marijuana sales to total nearly $193 million by 2025, generating $38.5 million
in tax revenue.
According to the Billings Gazette, there are two
measures on Montana’s ballot. First, the state is asking voters to amend the
state Constitution to authorize a minimum age for alcohol and marijuana
purchases, and second, to allow adults in the state to possess, buy and use
marijuana for recreation.
Some proponents of criminal justice reform suggest
that legalizing marijuana will have a positive impact on racial justice
initiatives.
“Cannabis criminalization is a cornerstone of the
war on drugs,” Jared Moffat of the Marijuana Policy Project, told The Appeal.
According to the Pew Research Center, 40% of all
drug arrests in 2018 were marijuana-related. The overwhelming majority were for
possession, as opposed to sale or manufacture.
Legalizing marijuana will have a two-fold effect - pump new revenue into state and local economies and reduce the inequity of racially disparate mass incarceration and the residual ill effects of having a criminal conviction.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George
P.C. His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was released by McFarland
Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and
follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino.
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