The amount of tax revenue collected in Colorado on legal marijuana sales in just the first two months of 2014 was $6.17 million.
If these same principles were applied to Africa could we expect to create a comparable income which could be used by our governments to fund effective social programmes. Maybe, lets see how the U.S look at weed.
Regardless of your feelings about legalizing marijuana, it's hard to deny that legal weed would be a bonanza for cash-strapped states, just as tobacco and alcohol already are. With Colorado and Washington starting to tax and regulate recreational weed sales, and medical marijuana legal in 18 other states, we can finally start to put some hard numbers on the industry's value.
Numbers like:
$1.53 billion: The amount the national legal marijuana market is worth, according to a Nov. 2013 report from ArcView Market Research, a San Francisco-based investor group focused on the marijuana industry.
$10.2 billion: The estimated amount the national legal marijuana market will be worth in five years, according to that same ArcView report.
$98 million:The total tax revenue that Colorado could reap in the fiscal year that begins in July, according to a recent budget proposal from Gov. John Hickenlooper.
$40 million:The amount of marijuana tax revenue Colorado is devoting to public school construction.
7,500-10,000:The estimated number of marijuana industry jobs that currently exist in Colorado, according to Michael Elliott, the Executive Director of the Marijuana Industry Group, a trade association that advocates for responsible marijuana regulation.
Marijuana growers account for $14 billion a year in sales in California
$190 million: The amount in taxes and fees legal marijuana is projected to raise for the state of Washington over four years starting in mid-2015, according to the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, an independent agency that advises
the state government on the budget and tax revenue.
$142.19 million: The estimated size of the medical marijuana market in Arizona in 2014, according to the ArcView Market Research report, up from $35.37 million last year. Arizona has a record 80 medical pot dispensaries currently open, with more expected to open this year, according to AZMarijuana.com.
$17.4 billion:The estimated total amount that marijuana prohibition costs state and federal governments every year, according to a 2010 study by Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Enforcing marijuana laws costs the taxpayers an estimated $10 billion annually |
Regardless of your feelings about legalizing marijuana, it's hard to deny that legal weed would be a bonanza for cash-strapped states, just as tobacco and alcohol already are. With Colorado and Washington starting to tax and regulate recreational weed sales, and medical marijuana legal in 18 other states, we can finally start to put some hard numbers on the industry's value.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  | ||
| Colorado dispensaries generated about $14 million in sales in January alone |
$1.53 billion: The amount the national legal marijuana market is worth, according to a Nov. 2013 report from ArcView Market Research, a San Francisco-based investor group focused on the marijuana industry.
$10.2 billion: The estimated amount the national legal marijuana market will be worth in five years, according to that same ArcView report.
$98 million:The total tax revenue that Colorado could reap in the fiscal year that begins in July, according to a recent budget proposal from Gov. John Hickenlooper.
$40 million:The amount of marijuana tax revenue Colorado is devoting to public school construction.
7,500-10,000:The estimated number of marijuana industry jobs that currently exist in Colorado, according to Michael Elliott, the Executive Director of the Marijuana Industry Group, a trade association that advocates for responsible marijuana regulation.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
$190 million: The amount in taxes and fees legal marijuana is projected to raise for the state of Washington over four years starting in mid-2015, according to the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, an independent agency that advises
the state government on the budget and tax revenue.
$142.19 million: The estimated size of the medical marijuana market in Arizona in 2014, according to the ArcView Market Research report, up from $35.37 million last year. Arizona has a record 80 medical pot dispensaries currently open, with more expected to open this year, according to AZMarijuana.com.
$17.4 billion:The estimated total amount that marijuana prohibition costs state and federal governments every year, according to a 2010 study by Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron.
As of July 2011, Denver counted more medical marijuana dispensaries than Starbucks coffee shops
Medicinal Use
The Cannabis plant has a history of medicinal use dating back thousands of years across many cultures, it is one of the 50 "fundamental" herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. The ancient Egyptians used hemp in suppositories for relieving the pain of hemorrhoids. Surviving texts from ancient India confirm that cannabis was prescribed by doctors for treating a
variety of illnesses and ailments, including insomnia, headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, and pain, including during childbirth.
In the medieval Islamic world, Arabic physicians made use of the diuretic, anti emetic, anti epileptic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic properties of Cannabis sativa, and used it extensively as medication from the 8th to 18th centuries. Medical use of cannabis is legalized in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Israel, Netherlands,
Spain, the UK and some states in the US, although it is illegal under US federal law.
Synthetic cannabinoids are available as prescription drugs in some countries; examples include: dronabinol (available in the United States (US) and Canada) and nabilone (available in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom (UK), and the US). In recent years the American Medical Association, the MMA, the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and other medical organizations have issued statements opposing its usage for medicinal purposes.
Laboratory tests conducted in 2008 by a team of scientists formed as a joint research effort between Spain, France and Italy, and published in The Journal Of Clinical Investigation, showed that the active ingredient in marijuana, known as THC, can function as a cure for brain cancer by inducing human glaucoma cell death through stimulation of autophagy.
The study concluded that via the same biochemical process THC could terminate multiple types of cancers, affecting various cells in the body. Other studies have shown that cannabis may work by various mechanisms, including inhibiting cell growth, inducing cell death, and inhibiting tumour metastasis.
Much of the medical marijuana discussion has focused on the safety of marijuana compared to the safety of FDA-approved drugs. On June 24, 2005 ProCon.org sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to find the number of deaths caused by marijuana compared to the number of deaths caused by 17 FDA-approved drugs.
Twelve of these FDA-approved drugs were chosen because they are commonly prescribed in place of medical marijuana, while the remaining five FDA-approved drugs were randomly selected because they are widely used and recognized by the general public.
Summary of Deaths by Drug Classification
Jan. 1, 1997 to June 30, 2005
MARIJUANA 0
17 FDA Drugs 10,008
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted the following symptoms or conditions under their Nov. 2002 report titled "Descriptions of Allowable Conditions under State Medical Marijuana Laws"
Alzheimer's Disease
Anorexia
AIDS
Arthritis
Cachexia
Cancer
Crohn's Disease
Epilepsy
Glaucoma
HIV
Migraine
Multiple Sclerosis
Nausea
Pain
Spasticity
Wasting Syndrome
MINNESOTA BECOMES 22ND STATE TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Medicinal Use
The Cannabis plant has a history of medicinal use dating back thousands of years across many cultures, it is one of the 50 "fundamental" herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. The ancient Egyptians used hemp in suppositories for relieving the pain of hemorrhoids. Surviving texts from ancient India confirm that cannabis was prescribed by doctors for treating a
variety of illnesses and ailments, including insomnia, headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, and pain, including during childbirth.
In the medieval Islamic world, Arabic physicians made use of the diuretic, anti emetic, anti epileptic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic properties of Cannabis sativa, and used it extensively as medication from the 8th to 18th centuries. Medical use of cannabis is legalized in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Israel, Netherlands,
Spain, the UK and some states in the US, although it is illegal under US federal law.
Synthetic cannabinoids are available as prescription drugs in some countries; examples include: dronabinol (available in the United States (US) and Canada) and nabilone (available in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom (UK), and the US). In recent years the American Medical Association, the MMA, the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and other medical organizations have issued statements opposing its usage for medicinal purposes.
Laboratory tests conducted in 2008 by a team of scientists formed as a joint research effort between Spain, France and Italy, and published in The Journal Of Clinical Investigation, showed that the active ingredient in marijuana, known as THC, can function as a cure for brain cancer by inducing human glaucoma cell death through stimulation of autophagy.
The study concluded that via the same biochemical process THC could terminate multiple types of cancers, affecting various cells in the body. Other studies have shown that cannabis may work by various mechanisms, including inhibiting cell growth, inducing cell death, and inhibiting tumour metastasis.
Much of the medical marijuana discussion has focused on the safety of marijuana compared to the safety of FDA-approved drugs. On June 24, 2005 ProCon.org sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to find the number of deaths caused by marijuana compared to the number of deaths caused by 17 FDA-approved drugs.
Twelve of these FDA-approved drugs were chosen because they are commonly prescribed in place of medical marijuana, while the remaining five FDA-approved drugs were randomly selected because they are widely used and recognized by the general public.
Summary of Deaths by Drug Classification
Jan. 1, 1997 to June 30, 2005
MARIJUANA 0
17 FDA Drugs 10,008
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted the following symptoms or conditions under their Nov. 2002 report titled "Descriptions of Allowable Conditions under State Medical Marijuana Laws"
Alzheimer's Disease
Anorexia
AIDS
Arthritis
Cachexia
Cancer
Crohn's Disease
Epilepsy
Glaucoma
HIV
Migraine
Multiple Sclerosis
Nausea
Pain
Spasticity
Wasting Syndrome
MINNESOTA BECOMES 22ND STATE TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA
