There is no doubt that the legal marijuana industry has seen a massive rate of adoption over the past few years, but few individuals could have predicted how well the public would adopt the cannabis industry throughout 2018. New data published by the Energias Market Research company has shown that the global marijuana industry is projected “to grow significantly from USD 8.28 billion in 2017 to USD 28.07 billion in 2024, at a CAGR of 19.1% from 2018 to 2024. Factors driving the growth of the medical cannabis market include increased recognition of medical benefits, higher demand for cannabis in the treatment of various diseases, and more research and development activities.
The United States is one of the fastest growing markets with 28 states having some legalization of cannabis whether it be for medicinal or recreational use. Major markets in the U.S. such as California, Alaska, Massachusetts and Nevada have all seen the benefit of recreationally legal cannabis. The potential financial benefits from legalization continue to outweigh all of the suggested cons that many thought would come into play when legalization became a reality.
According to the report, “in order to collect $1 billion a year in taxes, the state will need to reach a projected $7 billion in annual legal recreational cannabis sales. At that rate, California would easily be the country’s largest legal marijuana market, as the entire legal cannabis industry in the U.S. is expected to pull in roughly $10 billion in total sales for 2017. That number would almost certainly get a boost in the coming years, as legal markets grow in California and other states, such as Nevada and Massachusetts.”
State legislatures across the US are willing to fightback against strict federal lawmakers. Recently in the Alaska House, state legislatures took a vote that resulted in them demanding that the federal government leave them alone and stop trying to implement federal marijuana laws. This was a very big move for Alaska, and the big question remains, will other states follow their lead? In the Alaska House the vote was unanimous and this demonstrates how strongly they feel on the issue of marijuana. 38 people voted yes and absolutely no one voted against it. Alaska believes that the federal government needs to accept and respect the states decision regarding marijuana laws because they believe it should be under state jurisdiction and regulation.
Alaska isn’t alone on their stand against the Federal government, as they have seen other states fight back and attempt to gain control of the issue. State lawmakers in Maryland would like to triple the legal limit of marijuana possession that one person may have on them. A bill was passed that said that there wouldn’t be any criminal penalties for anyone withholding possession of less than one ounce of marijuana. Currently the legal limit is 10 grams and offenders carrying less than that suffer civil charges, but anymore creates criminal charges.
It’s clear to see that state lawmakers and trying to refocus the power and gain control over the issue. They don’t want to report to the federal government when it comes to marijuana, and in many cases they are acting out against the government to demonstrate their resistance. It’s up to the federal government to make the next move.
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