The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently reported a decline in the seizure of indoor and outdoor cannabis crops in 2015. Compared to the previous year’s 4.3 million, the number of marijuana plants seized during 2015 stood at 4.25 million, more than half of which were seized from California. This is the fifth consecutive year that the DEA has reported a decline in seizures of the plant. In 2010, as many as 10.3 million plants were seized. The assets seized in relation to the marijuana growth operations were just below $30 million.
The number arrests made in connection with the removal of cannabis crops remained steady compared to last year. However, the number of arrests in 2010 and 2011 were 10000 and 8500, respectively.
As data comes in year over year and the failures of the “War on Drugs” as they relate to Cannabis. The Drug Enforcement Agency continues to spend billions of dollars fighting marijuana, yet polling data shows that most Americans at large want an end to prohibition. Consider that the illegal Cannabis market has an estimated value of $50,000,000,000 & every time a new state legalizes Cannabis or medical marijuana those illegal markets suffer dramatically.
Any economist or accountant for that matter can see that the money wasted strengthens the case that cannabis advocates have made to remove or reschedule cannabis from the class 1 listing and open the door to federal legalization. Should logic & reason take over from a legislative perspective the US government will not only reduce costs associated with fighting a losing battle, but will also have a taxable cash crop and create a more robust industry that as it stands is already outpacing the smartphone industry. Colorado which was the first state to legalize both recreational and medical marijuana has seen an overall decrease in opiate overdoses, crime, imprisonment and simultaneously seen hundreds of millions of dollars come in from taxable cannabis. The ripple effect even extends to one of the hottest real estate markets in the United States as banking restrictions due to the federal illegality of cannabis force many business owners in the sector to legally launder their money through real estate transactions.
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