Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty
When thinking about the ridiculous amount of revenue that the states who have already legalized recreational and medical marijuana are making, it makes me wonder how long it’s going to take for the U.S. to give into its true capitalist nature and finally make the country weed-approved. According to Forbes, California is raking in $2.75 billion recreational and medical marijuana sales while Colorado trails behind at $1.56 billion and Oregon makes an impressive $777.6 million in sales. Last year the Corona beer maker Constellation Brands was one of the first major alcohol makers to invest in the marijuana industry, giving close to $200 million to Canada’s top cannabis producer Canopy Growth. This year Constellation is upping the ante with an investment of $4 billion dollars to capitalize off the beginning of recreational marijuana going on sale in Canada starting October 17th.
Reuters reported Canopy will use the investment to expand and gain exposure to over 30 countries likely to approve medical marijuana. Accounting firm Deloitte conducted a survey and found 63 percent of Canadian weed smokers will utilize legal vendors once cannabis is legalized. Legal recreational and medical marijuana sales are expected to generate more than $5 billion Canadian dollars in 2019, creating a lucrative business that will lead to more jobs, entrepreneurship opportunities and tax money to benefit the country. So aside from being known as one of the more friendly countries in the world, Canada will become a marijuana tourist attraction similar to how people can visit Spain or Iceland to take in the beautiful scenery while also taking a couple puffs of a legal joint.
Last year a Gallup poll released a survey that found more than 33 million U.S. adults identified as “current” marijuana users and those adults aren’t solely in states with legal weed. The demand is obviously here in the United States and with the US federal government estimated to be $21.48 trillion in debt, the country should be looking at realistic solutions to lower the excess financial waste in this country. With the inevitable legalization of recreational and medical marijuana in this country, there has to be a change in the social stigma of smoking weed or using cannabis based products. Research has shown the dangerous effects of alcohol and tobacco and we let those industries thrive with advertisements that entice the youth with flavored tobacco products, juuls and alcohol commercials that show the party and not the heart and liver damage that comes from drinking too much. Over 600,000 people were arrested for a marijuana law violation in 2016 according to the Drug Policy Alliance and if the currently illegal drugs were taxed at rates comparable to alcohol and tobacco, the U.S. could be making at least $46.7 billion dollars per year. But the legalization of weed means that the biggest industry in the United States (aka the prison industry) would suffer and with the release of all those prisoners that have sentences for charges of possession, our economy would have to find a place for those people or deal with the endless cycle of citizens coming in and out prison because they can’t adapt to the real world.
While Constellation and Canopy has said their cannabis products won’t be sold in the U.S. until the government fully allows it, Corona investing $4 billion dollars has me thinking they have to have a plan to dominate the recreational marijuana market beyond Canada and Mexico. Tobacco companies like Alliance One International and Imperial Brand have already purchased stake in cannabis suppliers and as soon as they get the green light from the U.S., most of their tobacco fields will turn into plentiful fields of marijuana plants so people wanting to get into this industry should prepare for that transition now. If you’re a budding (no pun intended) entrepreneur that wants to make an impact on an industry, why not work toward an industry that isn’t saturated with tons of companies vying to make money off the same concepts, products and branding. There will come a time where people will be able to walk into Walmart to buy their pre-rolled blunts and cannabis-infused gummy bears and innovators are going to have the advantage of seizing that prominent market first. As a country we tend to slowly adapt to social and legal changes but the fight for legal marijuana has been going since the 1930s when the federal government first regulated marijuana. Let the people smoke their trees in peace.
Article By: Marcel “The Messenger” Jeremiah
