Effects of legalized cannabis

A sign supporting marijuana legalization at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza in Eugene, Oregon

Cannabis is a legal recreational and medical drug in several countries and US states and there have been several effects of the drug being legalized.

Region

United States

News report from Voice of America about businesses related to cannabis in the United States. Aired 23 September 2015

Colorado

News report by Voice of America about the business effect of cannabis in Colorado, with 700 million dollars in sales

In Colorado, effects since 2014 include increased state revenues,[1] violent crime decreased,[2][3] an increase in homeless population,[4] one Colorado hospital has received a 15% increase in babies born with THC in their blood.[5]

Between 2011 and 2014, there was a 6.5% increase in the population of Colorado. Many attribute this increase to the legalization of marijuana. People are flooding to the state in hopes of a job in the industry, or just the chance to use marijuana in their everyday lives. The development of new homes has not been able to keep up with the influx of people. This has resulted in soaring rent costs and home values. Between the rising cost of living, stagnant wages, and an extremely competitive job market, Colorado is seeing a drastic increase in the homeless population.

Oregon

Oregon legalized Cannabis in November 2014. Effects have included an increase in cannabis-related calls to the Oregon state poison center,[6] an increase in perception among youth that Marijuana use is harmful,[6] a decrease in arrest rates for cannabis related offenses,[6] stores sold $250 million in cannabis products which resulted in $70 million in state tax revenue (higher than a predicted $36 million in revenue),[7] 10% decrease in violent crime, and 13% drop in murder rate,[7]

Washington D.C.

Washington D.C. legalized Cannabis in 2015. Cannabis possession arrests decreased 98% from 2014 to 2015 and all cannabis offenses dropped by 85%,[8]

Uruguay

Effects of Cannabis legalization in Uruguay since 2013 include other countries in the region loostening laws concerning cannabis and lower costs of illegal cannabis,[9] the percentage of female prisoners has fallen,[10]

See also

It was found that the U.S. market for legalizing marijuana jumped from 74 percent in the year 2014 to $2.7 billion from the $1.5 billion the industry was previously netting in the year 2013. With the rate that the marijuana industry is growing, experts have projected the market to be worth roughly $11 billion by 2019. California has the biggest market for marijuana use with roughly 49% of the industry. Due to the recent legalization in the 2016 election process, California’s presence with marijuana will raise the worth of the market substantially.

References


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.