Though a resolution to legalize recreational marijuana failed to pass in California in 2014, the issue is certain to continue taking a top spot in political debates for the next year. Some are predicting that California will join the short but growing list of states with legal recreational marijuana in 2016.
California has had legal medicinal marijuana for almost two decades after it was approved in 1996, but legalizing recreational marijuana has been more difficult to agree upon. With a thriving black market for pot and suspected large numbers of unnecessary medicinal users, advocates for change point out that the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to the legalization of marijuana.
Few in Colorado would disagree. When they legalized recreational marijuana on January 1, 2014, the state was expecting new revenue from taxes and fees, but they also anticipates some backlash. What has occurred is a windfall in state revenues that legislators had to determine how to spend and very few negative incidents. While there will always be those who point out accidents or violence that involves marijuana, one must ask whether or not alcohol or another substance would not have been substituted if the marijuana was not available. Overall, police in Colorado have been very pleased with the lack of marijuana related incidents since its legalization almost a year ago.
Sellers in Colorado have also expressed optimism about how the legalization has occurred. While the state realizes more revenue than most projected, the owners of pot dispensaries are also pleased with their profits. The state has imposed limits upon the amount of marijuana that can be purchased and where it can be consumed, but it has not deterred people from travelling to Denver from all across the country to try a sample.
Could the same thing occur in California? Burdened by constant budgetary problems, California could certainly use the revenue boost. The savings that would come from not policing illegal marijuana is likely to be diverted into regulating the legal market, but the income from licenses, taxes, and fees could be expected to pour in my the millions.
Recently Oregon and Washington DC have followed Colorado’s lead and legalized marijuana for recreational use. As the public becomes more educated about cannabis and sees successful results in the states that legalize its use, more states are sure to follow. California is one of several states that show signs of joining them.