Legal ganja pumping $billions into US economy
(CNS): A report published this week on the legal sale of ganja in the United States is predicting that it will pump up to $44 billion into the American economy by 2020 if current business and legalisation trends continue. Already surpassing sales of the all-American girl-scout cookie and e-cigarettes, the authors predict that if the real demand for ganja was met legally, it would surpass the sale of wine in the entire US and even chocolate, offering significant tax opportunities.
During 2016 the industry is expected to generate between $14 and $17 billion, reflecting what industry experts say is the move of cannabis into the mainstream economy, giving birth to jobs, fostering new business opportunities and creating a broad ripple effect across the country.
The Marijuana Business Factbook 2016 indicates that sales of recreational marijuana soared in Colorado and Washington last year, and the trend is expected to continue in 2016. It is also expected to contribute heavily to increased sales in Oregon, where the recreational marijuana industry is growing rapidly.
With new medical markets in Nevada, New York and Minnesota, revenue spikes are expected and the authors said that new markets, including Hawaii and Maryland, might come online this year, further boosting industry retail revenues as existing markets continue to grow.
“We’re witnessing the emergence of a business that is about to become a massive economic force,” said Chris Walsh, managing editor of Marijuana Business Daily. He said the figures, which the writers think are conservative estimates, show how important the industry already is and how much more important it is about to become.
The figures are based on sales of medical and recreational marijuana at the retail level (including flower, infused products and concentrates). Overall, for each dollar spent by marijuana patients/customers at retail, an additional three dollars in economic benefit is realised, according to the Factbook.
Sales of recreational cannabis could surpass those of medical marijuana as early as 2018, though revenue stemming from medicinal use will continue to make up a big piece of the pie.
The sales and economic impact estimates include wide ranges to account for the massive amount of unknowns inherent in the industry, including legalisation, regulations and the inevitable hurdles and delays new markets face. The low-end projections are particularly cautious, while the higher-end ones assume a more promising scenario in terms of legalisation and growth.
Several key states could legalise recreational cannabis in the November election, including California, Nevada and Massachusetts, while Florida and Ohio could legalise medical marijuana.
“These would be huge new markets for the marijuana industry, propelling its growth for years to come,” Walsh said. “At this point, marijuana executives are holding their collective breath and hoping for a big November.”
Category: Health, Medical Health, USA, World News
I sad it before, and I will say again. Not until they can figure out a way that only the Cayman Royal families can be the only ones to benefit from it will weed in any form be legalized.
Yep. White American men in suits raking in billions while Brown and Black American men rot away in prison for decades for supplying the same demand in the same market.
God bless AmeriKKKa.
Your hope has no effect on me or my stand against ganja, I have faith that will never happen to me or anyone I know. However, there are legal meditation to treat glaucoma. All of this hype about ganja curing cancer and other ailments are just that hype. There is no concrete proof that ganja cures anything. The jury is still out on that
Watch weediquette on YouTube episode 1 please! We have to have an open mind!
Also watch episode 2 which deals with Post traumatic stress disorder.
Although there are no clinical trials to prove it, there is enough evidence to delist it as schedule 1 and allow scientists to do their research. Maybe we can save someone’s life.
http://youtu.be/vMZCq56tToc
this conversation is lost on the caymankind…..
we live in a place where you can’t dance on a sunday…….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
here do you get this garbage from? Why do you think you can’t dance on a Sunday?
There is a grain of truth to that. According to liquor licensing board regulations, bars are not allowed to play music louder than will travel beyond their property lines. That’s a relatively recent change. It used to be that bars could not play music on Sundays at all.
Am I the only one that sees the irony in the fact that supermarkets can’t open on Sundays, yet you can go to a bar at noon, drink yourself senseless, have a little quality time with the mistress and then go home beat your wife and yell at your kids?
Who introduced it here in the first place? Medicine is derived from plants, but not every plant is edible. Medicinal Ganga/ cannibus should be dispensed under proper license like all other drugs. It becomes dangerous when individuals sit and feast off of it and destroy themselves on the perpetual high.
A drink of alcohol wouldn’t kill anyone, but the excessive use of it becomes dangerous to your health, so is the excessive use of all drugs/food. It is illegal here but is used by many.
Since when you became everyones mother? Everyone is so dumb but you. Canabi oil is number one medicine against cancer. Must make it yourself, plenty of videos. Thanks Internet and Google.
This is one of the most ill-informed posts I have seen on CNS in some time.
The moral majority will block this concept in Cayman as it may wake people up to the fact that God is within each one of us and not a bastardized icon who some use an excuse to extort personal gain from the masses.
Money is the root of all evil. Whats the good of making money to help the less fortunate when some familys will suffer from the parent who spends the money to satisfy their habit. Its just like organizations having functions and selling liquor to some of the same parents kids that are buying the liquor. Children in our Country are affected from the drugs and the rum consuming. Last week it was disgusting to here so much publicity about the bullying where some kid was punched. After reading the news I in my humble opinion did not agree that it was bullying but drug dealing at the school. How and where did that kid get ganja from to give back to the other boy. He certainly did not seem to find it difficult at all to give the other boy. Did he buy it off the Street, at the school or from a family member? I say when we did not have drugs in Cayman we had almost no robberies, a better working breed of people who had their heads screwed on in their work place, fewer boys in the prison, and not to mention but much happier homes. Children are now being exposed to so much wrong in their own homes. Not defending the Police but we cannot blame them for the rearing of our kids.
Very simple, these businesses can’t deposit this money into bank accounts as it still considered a federal offense, hey why do they we allow these businesses to fly down in private planes and deposit the money here.
Or
We have 300+ acres in the eastern district, let’s. Start growing the weed and sell it to these companies call caymankind. .
We better get our heads out of the sand and figure out something. Between Cuba opening up and Jamaica decriminalizing personal consumption of weed…we stand to lose a lot of tourism $$$$$$.
We need to offer direct flights from Miami to Cuba and then on to Grand Cayman. We should also follow in Jamaica’s footsteps. Jamaica’s economy is bound to turn around as a result of the legalization. If anything we should make an exception for those who have a prescription from their doctor.
DUH! If only Cayman was a forward thinking nation….
Come election time next year I hope the candidates have the balls to push for legalization.
One man, one vote, one spliff!
I tell you what…. the politician hopeful that pushes for decriminalization next election, will get lots of votes. Think about it… a new revenue stream that will allow CIG to lower and possibly remove duties on certain items that duties are extremely high. This will result in more expendable income for middle to lower class families that live pay check to pay check. The proceeds could also be used to improve the public education system which is in dire need of revamping. The cons are endless. Wakeup Cayman! Let’s not get left behind!
“the politician hopeful that pushes for decriminalization next election, will get lots of votes”
…not from those interests which currently operate a high profit margin business on the proposition that ganja is illegal.
The preachers and the drug dealers are a united front on this issue, and it is a powerful coalition.
Yes, but the politician that pushes this agenda, is virtually guaranteed the 18 – 25 vote, which carries a high number of individually and a large number of the 25-40 year old vote. While the younger bracket does not usually vote, you may see a change if this were a platform.
However do not discount the pharmaceutical and alcohol industries here. These two industries make more than the illegal narcotics, and they are both political heavyweights.
Legalizing this would satisfy significant budget shortages, fix the unemployment issue, and increase revenues. There have been feasibility studies done before on the economic impact of this.
Just think about it…legalize it have certain ppl on Island grow it (TOP QAULITY) this now creates jobs in a wide variety. Now for the illegal part think again this will simply create a new MARKET on island which now the current drug dealers cant seem to find anyone coming to buy what they have the ppl now have a option. This now erradicates the drug dealers for weed of course slowly but surely. They might even say to shit with this abd open a LEGAL shop and pay the gov as well. THINK CAYMAN THINK. Its not all about the dam RUM
Could you explain how, or why the majority of the 18-25 year olds are jobless, reside with parents, lack drive and ambition, sleep for ungodly hours and are not productive citizens? If ganja is so good, I would like to know, how it works with the lax, lazy, sluggish and ambition less. Those individuals who depend on parents to provide for them and contribute very little, or are disruptive.
Too many zombies around, begging, stealing and leading useless lives. Is it an ambition tablet? What say ye?
You mean that’s not obvious? They been smoking the Ganja. That is a direct path to unemployment, same as being an alcoholic. But if its legal, then it can be called a mental illness.
18 to 25 years old.? Very interesting to state the obvious target group.
But let the politicians use the “Sick” people to get it passed. We are all mental and have some sickness that ganja will cure. Heck, now I’m reading it can cure the Government budget. wait a minute, the budget is sick, so weed is the cure.
The point being, stop trying to find excuses to get high. Come out right and say that it gives a good feeling, better than alcohol. That part is true. The 18 to 25 years old are already at home saying “mama I is hungry” so let’s keep them out of jail, and that is how the Government will save money, instead of put them in jail to pay everything for them. That alone will save millions.
So people stop the BS, do not use the “Sick” or “medical” card. Let’s get it legal for a choice on how we can get high, and how we can decide to ruin our lives if we want.
Now the next step, is who do we allow to sell it? The current pushers? the users? Before that let’s get a good puff and get to the zone that we just say “F&8K it”
Mama I is hungry still.
It is the fault of the parents for lack of upbringing. With the right morals and values instilled in a child from young they will be productive citizens of their society. Some teens have never even had to iron their own school uniform much less wash a dish. How can you be ambitious when you have never had to and you parents give you everything without having to work for it?
I agree with you completely. By the time the 18-25 year olds try to get up out of their weed induced zombie state the polls will probably be closed so any politician depending on their votes will be disappointed. Bearing in mind that after they wake up they must rummage around in all the shelves for food to eat before they leave. A mother who has to deal with one of these 18-25 year old told me that she cannot keep any food in her kitchen because of him . Apparently they cannot control their appetite when they are using this weed. She went on to say that whenever we hear about them breaking into fast food places, they are looking for food as well as any money left around. We have enough of their kind stumbling around now so can you imagine if it was legal.
Obviously, you can’t control your appetite when you are smoking the bush weed that’s sold on island. With decriminalization, you will have access to the high quality medicinal grade cannabis that does not give the munchies in the same manner as low grade cannabis.
@3:56 am – I’d be willing to bet that the majority of those jobless 18 – 25 y.o. still living with their parents, sleeping all day etc, would still be jobless 18 – 25 y.o. still living with their parents, sleeping all day etc even if they didn’t smoke weed. They’d simply be drinking alcohol or find some other vice.
In most cases, if you’re a lazy jobless layabout, then you’re a lazy jobless layabout, weed or no weed.
Ganja makes one lazy, alcohol makes one violent. One goes to sleep after ganja overdose, the other dies from alcohol poisoning.
Just because alcohol is legal it doesn’t mean we are all alocolics.
Why is one legal and the other one not?
As a father of an 18 year old, I would prefer she overdoses on canabis rather than alcohol, wouldn’t you?
Why is the church against it? How can they be against a plant in its natural form created by God? Someone pls explain.
The Fed US apparently in God they Trust but the plant is schedule 1 deemed to have no benefit to humans. If they did trust in God maybe they should delist it and allow research to determine why God created it. Furthermore, they have a patent on it, the only plant to be ever patented. Hmmm.
I find this quite hypocritical.
God created maiden plum, cow itch and night shade .See anyone smoking those. Not everything created is for human consumption.
God created all things to benefit man. Maiden Plum (Comocladia dentate) for affections of antrum. Sacroiliac and abdominal pain. Throbbing pains worse by heat. Pain in joints and ankles.
Lady Hair Malpighia cubensis some preliminary findings from laboratory research show it aids in reducing blood sugar levels.Extract may fight oxidative stress (an aging-related process linked to a number of major diseases).shows promise for protection against lung cancer.
Cow itch (Mucuna pruriens). Research suggests Mucuna pruriens protects the brain by keeping cognitive and neural functions in check, even encouraging neural activity. Studies on animals have echoed this, placing the focus on its antioxidant action.
The latter probably the best cure for some commentators or heavy weed smokers. So all the cures are here on island, even if they seem “lethal” or unfit for human consumption.
America criminalized Marijuana and the whole world followed suit. Now they are decriminalizing it.Just a matter of time Cayman. If America sneeze Cayman catch a cold. No more Marijuana criminals. Could anyone tell me if there is another plant that God created a one can be criminalized for using it personally.
Your first sentence is true, on the surface. But, with one man one vote, that politician hopeful can receive votes ONLY from the voters in his constituency which will now be a much smaller voting base. So, while a lot of people may want to vote for him/her they won’t be able to if they do not live in the designated area where he/she is running.
You are so right , the cons are indeed endless. That is what happens, when you smoke pot, don’t know the difference between pro and con. You are a prime example of what will happen if pot is legalized.
OMG! the world is ending because someone typed “con” instead of “pro”!
never happen. too many cops, lawyers, prison guards, judges, politicians and other lazy people who count on all or part of their living to come from illegal drugs. The welfare rolls would explode and crime go up as the criminal element found new, more violent ways to make the bling.
You mean the “Pros” are endless.
So true, the cons are endless. See what smoking pot does to you, you don’t know the difference between pros and cons.
I sincerely hope not. You can always move to Jamaica if you so desire.
And you can move to Saudi Arabia if you want to live in a dry society.
No way, I will stay right here and fight against legalization of ganja so that you imbeciles will always have to hide to smoke it.
I hope you get glaucoma and the only thing that helps you is weed.
Touché!!! ?????
I say if ganja that are sold in Jamaica was so good my friend Bob Marley would not have died. ” One Love” !!!!
And I hope that when you get glaucoma and you start smoking, the joint falls in your lap and burns a hole in your favorite shorts!
Ooohhhh not my favorite shorts! How will I cope with that minor dilemma?! Probably just keep puffing my spliff while my ailments are cured.