Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Will Legalised Marijuana Lad to an Economic Boom?

  1. #1

    Will Legalised Marijuana Lad to an Economic Boom?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22408039

    Marijuana is now legal in Washington state in the north-west of America. Will the sales kick-start an economic boom?

    Kimberly Bliss and her wife, Kim Ridgway, have been looking for ways to get back on their feet.

    The women lost their jobs when their mutual employers sold a struggling wholesale meat business during the recession. Two and a half years later, Ridgway has been unable to find stable work, while Bliss only works part-time.

    "We're both over 50, and we're women," Bliss says. "We're some of the hardest people to employ in this economy. We have nothing to look forward to in our future."

    But the legalisation of marijuana has changed that.

    Kimberly Bliss, left, and Kim Ridgway, right, of Olympia, Washington will apply for a retail license once the state makes them available. Now Bliss and Ridgway are drawing up plans to open a quaint cannabis shop in downtown Olympia, Washington, funded by about $20,000 (£13,000) in savings.

    They are among many Washington residents looking to cash in on the newly legal and potentially lucrative marijuana market, which they hope will give them a new start, create jobs, and boost Washington's slumping economy.

    "I'm going to work for my American dream, and that's opening a retail marijuana store," Ridgway says. "It will be such a financial relief. And we have friends who are struggling, so this will also be putting them to work."

    A diverse bunch, prospective marijuana entrepreneurs range from cannabis novices like Bliss and Ridgway to experienced sellers crawling out of the black market.

    State officials are unsure how much revenue marijuana will bring because the market has never been regulated. But experts predict the industry could fetch up to $2bn over a five-year period.

    And that does not include the secondary markets that legal cannabis might fuel - tourism, agriculture and the food industry.

    Sales begin next year, after the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) issues rules and regulations for growers, processors and sellers, a task never before undertaken in the world.

    Of course, many businesses in Washington are already on the ground floor - most visible are the medical dispensaries that have been selling cannabis for years.

    "Part of the reason legalisation passed is that this has been going on for a long time," says WSLCB spokesman Brian Smith. "It's about time we regulated this thing to get revenue for the state from this product."

    Medical dispensaries have flourished in western Washington for years, although it is unknown how much revenue they earn because until December, marijuana use was illegal in the state and remains illegal under federal law. Dispensaries cannot open bank accounts and probably pay no taxes.

    Despite that, at least 60 storefront medical marijuana shops have opened in Seattle alone.

    At The Joint in Seattle, community service plaques line the wall near the receptionist's counter, a scene more akin to a small-town dentist's office than a drug dealer's den.

    "Right now we sponsor a little football league," says Shy Sadis, manager of The Joint. "We give back to the Seattle Police Department, to the Mariners [baseball team], to the Seattle Fire Department. We even run a local toy drive ever year."

    With its clean waiting room and professional staff, the company is poised to expand to recreational sales once Sadis can apply for a business license. Many other dispensaries are readying themselves to do the same.

    "Seattle is going to be a Mecca for cannabis," Sadis says. "And I'm happy and proud to be a part of it. We want to pay our taxes. We want to do the right thing."

    Many local marijuana businesspeople fear large companies will take over small operations before they have had a chance to develop.

    Yet no big corporations have directly invested in the market and are unlikely to do so until the federal government decides whether to take action against Washington for contravening federal law.

    In March, Attorney General Eric Holder said the Obama administration was still considering the federal response to new state marijuana laws.

    That response is the ultimate source of concern for people looking to enter the marijuana market. Their investment and efforts could be lost if the federal government overturns legal marijuana use in the state.

    "There are risks and challenges for everyone starting a new business," Bliss says. "This is a bit of a higher risk… I'm sure federal prison isn't fun. But if we do it correctly, maybe we can open some eyes."
    1776 > 1984

    The FAILURE of the United States Government to operate and maintain an
    Honest Money System , which frees the ordinary man from the clutches of the money manipulators, is the single largest contributing factor to the World's current Economic Crisis.

    The Elimination of Privacy is the Architecture of Genocide

    Belief, Money, and Violence are the three ways all people are controlled

    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Our central bank is not privately owned.



  2. Remove this section of ads by registering.
  3. #2
    No but it will mitigate the damage. Under these government and monetary policies, an economic boom is absolutely impossible.

    Recovery.gov was registered in Jan 2009, now well over 4 years ago. Anyone seen any recovery yet?

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by thoughtomator View Post
    No but it will mitigate the damage. Under these government and monetary policies, an economic boom is absolutely impossible.

    Recovery.gov was registered in Jan 2009, now well over 4 years ago. Anyone seen any recovery yet?
    no. article today in the big local paper about the "carbon footprint" - it is Seattle after all. volume projections > a pound per user annually...

  5. #4
    It will definitely free up money in peoples pockets, giving them more money to spend on other things. Also, those involved risking their lives for the drug trade could go on to real value added pursuits. (Yes I know this is unlikely, but its not like all of them are going to be able to stay in crime. Surely their "industry" will shrink and some of them will go into private industry?)

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by thoughtomator View Post
    No but it will mitigate the damage. Under these government and monetary policies, an economic boom is absolutely impossible.

    Recovery.gov was registered in Jan 2009, now well over 4 years ago. Anyone seen any recovery yet?
    There was a recovery, but it wasnt on Main Street.

    People are taught to have this perception that when Wall Street does good, Main St is also doing good. But it just isnt the case. Fed prints up money and pumps that money into Wall St, but that doesnt trickle down at all to Main St. The way that it does get to Main St is in the form of Debt. Much of Wall St is Banking, and on Wall St, they get assets, but for Main St to get it, they have to take out LOANS from WALL St, so we get it in the form of Debt, not Assets.

    Wall Street prospers at the expense of Main Street.

    Legalizing Pot would create wealth at the bottom of the pyramid. Those at the bottom can prosper when they can produce something of value, or provide a service of value. Main St is getting slaughtered because it doesnt produce anything, and the services provided are usually done through bigger companies that rake in all the profits from those services while paying the people at the bottom an unfair share of the profits. THink of a mechanic. Getting a car worked on is average a hundred bucks an hour (nice round number, actual number is different). The mechanic gets paid less than $10 bucks an hour, but makes $90 in profit for Wal Mart for changing oil.

    This all pretty much validates exactly what you've implied and most people are fully aware of: the so called Recovery is complete bull$#@!. I think this is also one of the reasons why there is so much resistance from those at the top to legalize pot. It would destroy their precious jobs (of convicting and incarcerating "drug offenders") and provide us with jobs that we could use to provide for ourselves instead of being dependant on the Govt for Unemployment and Food Stamps.
    1776 > 1984

    The FAILURE of the United States Government to operate and maintain an
    Honest Money System , which frees the ordinary man from the clutches of the money manipulators, is the single largest contributing factor to the World's current Economic Crisis.

    The Elimination of Privacy is the Architecture of Genocide

    Belief, Money, and Violence are the three ways all people are controlled

    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Our central bank is not privately owned.

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by jclay2 View Post
    It will definitely free up money in peoples pockets, giving them more money to spend on other things. Also, those involved risking their lives for the drug trade could go on to real value added pursuits. (Yes I know this is unlikely, but its not like all of them are going to be able to stay in crime. Surely their "industry" will shrink and some of them will go into private industry?)
    How would it "free up money in people's pockets"?

  8. #7
    in the sense that money won't be spent on the prison industrial complex, and more productive venues - then yes



Similar Threads

  1. Here Comes the Economic Boom
    By Jordan in forum Economy & Markets
    Replies: 50
    Last Post: 11-06-2012, 01:53 AM
  2. Want a Global Economic Boom? Open the Borders:
    By IDefendThePlatform in forum U.S. Political News
    Replies: 41
    Last Post: 09-09-2012, 07:18 PM
  3. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 01-17-2012, 07:58 PM
  4. Clinton Years and the 90s economic boom
    By The Tao Of Bill in forum U.S. Political News
    Replies: 30
    Last Post: 03-06-2008, 07:16 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •