Legal Marijuana Would Shift Economic Power

Jim Finnel

Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Everyone has a theory as to why our government is opposed to the legalization of marijuana. The question is not one of morality, but of economics. True, marijuana has the tax revenue potential to help solve our current crisis. But those in power now lose control of their piece of the pie.

When discussing the economic potential of legalizing marijuana we tend to exclude a huge part of the picture. The plant hemp itself has more than 10,000 uses.

It is also one of the fastest growing crops on Earth. The market shift toward products made with hemp would wreak havoc on present-day economy.

The number of symptoms that marijuana can be prescribed for is endless.

Potential customers include every cancer patient, anyone experiencing anxiety, suffering from depression, sleeplessness, migraines, chronic pain, even PMS.

That's before one recreational toke.

Medically speaking, the potential market share for medical marijuana is larger than for any other drug. Show me someone who doesn't have any of the ailments that marijuana can be prescribed for medically. Big companies don't want to give up their market share.

Insurance companies who right now don't pay for medical marijuana will have to start paying a hefty tab. I'm not sure, but insurance companies probably won't be too enthused to pay for everyone's marijuana. The insurance and the pharmaceutical companies both have very powerful lobbies with millions of dollars worth of influence.

The potential market for hemp products cannot be taken lightly. Hemp and marijuana are very valuable crops. It would drastically change agriculture in the United States. I doubt that if legal, the United States has the landmass to satisfy its own demand. Thomas Jefferson knew the economic power of hemp.

Foreign countries with greater landmass and cheaper labor would hijack the market becoming instant economic superpowers in the process. Sure, the United States will see a lot of revenue from the taxation of marijuana. The sales revenue from hemp will far exceed it. The government is afraid to let loose this cash cow.

The biggest determinate of quality life is economics. Power concedes nothing without a demand. By marijuana and hemp being illegal, it has made a lot of people rich. Legalization would result in such a shift of economic power that it scares the "Haves."


NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: North County Times
Author: RON BINION Jr.
Copyright: 2009 North County Times
Contact: Contact Us - North County Times/The Californian
Website: FORUM: Legal marijuana would shift economic power
 
good article, but he's wrong about hemp. It's already mass produced all over the world for the exact reasons mentioned. It'd be great to grow here, would give the farmers something to make money with, they've been hit hard. It would drastically shift the economic benefeciaries for sure, but so goes evolution, the powers that be always fight it but they can't fight the tide forever.
 
What everyone is not seeing is the U.S. is the one putting breaks on Hemp production. The people in power want nothing to do with hemp because they can not control it. That is the key. In my community we started a few pilot projects around hemp. The first crop came up but some idiots at the border stopped the shipment for so long that it was rejected and the the farmers lost a huge amount of money BUT THE WORST PART IS, THIS WHOLE AREA IS Hemp Shy and there is not much I can do against that. People in the U.S. demand hemp because it works in all it's forms.The government is the one stopping expansion.
Once Hemp has been restored to it's rightful place and farmers are back growing it, then the whole world can grow even more.
 
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