Just when it was all beginning to look rosy for the marijuana industry in the USA, with more and more people having access to medical marijuana to help with the pain and suffering of chronic illnesses and more and more research into other potential medical benefits of marijuana, as well as an increased number of people being able to legally enjoy the benefits of recreational marijuana, a huge obstacle has been put in the roadway. An obstacle that goes by the name of Donald Trump.
It is no secret that the President-Elect isn’t keen on weed, so with the election of the new President, what does it mean for the marijuana industry? Will it inhibit it? Will it boost it? Or will it carry on as it was? And with an apparent contradiction between the highly conservative views of the President-Elect, and the seemingly growing liberal views of the people where marijuana is concerned, where does that leave us?
Whilst Donald Trump has pledged that he will not interfere with state laws regarding weed, his election does add a touch of uncertainty to what was an industry which was growing from strength to strength.
Election Night
On the very same night that Donald Trump was elected to become the next President of the USA, there was another ballot going on in some states – about the legalisation of marijuana – and it won in several of them. Before this night, only four (pretty) small states had legalised marijuana – Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska – about 17.1 million people. Now, just with the addition of California – with a population of 38.8 million people, there are millions of people who can now enjoy the health and recreational benefits of pot – about a fifth of the country in fact.
There are now 29 states which have legal medical marijuana laws, and some also with legal recreational marijuana laws, showing that attitudes towards cannabis are changing among those making state laws and the population in general.
This isn’t just good news for the people of these states, but it is also great news for the economy. Not only will it allow for new businesses to grow and thrive, it will put more money into the economy – and of course give the country more money in tax. Not to mention the fact that through giving people a legal way to get marijuana you will be un-criminalising a whole bunch of people.
Who is in Charge?
One big factor into the future of the USA’s marijuana industry is who will be in charge as U.S. Attorney General. Whilst we can remain optimistic that the person appointed is at least sympathetic towards medical and recreational marijuana, maybe the best that we can hope for is that they respect the fact that state laws have been made, through a democratic process and therefore should be kept.
It should be noted that with such a massive turn towards the legalisation of marijuana over the entire country, it would be difficult for the Attorney General to ignore. Remember, that technically, under Federal Law, marijuana is still illegal – a law which is as good as ignored, but still exists. However, with such a swing of popular opinion to legalise marijuana, it is surely just a matter of time before Federal Law legalises it too – an argument made only stronger by the fact that marijuana businesses will be growing and will inevitably have increasing amounts of money to help them to fight their cause.
With an increase in the amount of businesses growing in the world of marijuana and its derivatives, and the amount of money in the industry increasing, we are likely to see a snowball effect across the other states, and spreading into Federal Law. And from this we hope to see the same benefits given to marijuana businesses in terms of tax breaks and their relationships with financial institutions such as banks, for example, as other industries. And all this can only be a good thing for the marijuana industry and the economy as a whole.
Keeping Promises
The President-Elect, Donald Trump has on numerous occasions, agreed to leave alone the rights of each state to make their own laws about the consumption of marijuana, and we can only hope that he keeps this promise without backing down – as has already occurred with some of the other election pledges that have been made.
Whether Trump decides that he wants to legalise marijuana or not, perhaps the best that we can hope for, for the time being is that he leaves the separate states – and their laws alone to make their own decisions. And with the general momentum of the country heading towards the legalisation of pot, we are feeling pretty hopeful that soon everyone can enjoy the benefits of what the wonder plant has to offer.
Article provided by: Essence Cannabis Dispensary
