Legalizing Marijuana in Texas Could Bring in Over $1 Billion
Marijuana sales brings in a lot of money. We know this just by looking at the states that have legalized weed. Let's take a look at the numbers.
- Washington - $319 million
- California - $300 million
- Colorado - $266.6 million
- Oregon - $94.4 million
- Nevada - $69.8 million
- Alaska - $11.0 million
- Massachusetts - $5.2 million
State lawmakers in Texas have already begun filling bills addressing marijuana to prepare of the 87th legislature, which is supposed to start coming up in January.
There has been movement towards the legalization recently though, as Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill that legalized hemp, which then made CBD oil legal. This really opened the doors to legalization in Texas because local authorities don't have the time or equipment to test if something is hemp or marijuana.
Across the state, there have been authorities saying they won't be prosecuting small amounts of marijuana because they don't want to waste the resources testing it.
We're already moving in this direction and Texas is missing out on a TON of money from legalized marijuana. According to the state of Colorado Department of Revenue, they sold over $1.5 billion in 2018.
If Texas were to tax marijuana the way Colorado does, we could expect to see an estimated $1.1 billion over a couple of years. Stop and think about that number. Now stop and think about how the economy has taken a massive hit (no pun intended) over the past year because of COVID-19.
Seems like this is a no-brainer, right?
Not if some Texas lawmakers who are still stuck in ancient times have their way. Tarrant County House Republican David Cook said that he would not be in favor of any legalization of marijuana and that we should, instead, look to industries that have made our economy successful. Like oil and gas. You know.
Two things that are finite and will eventually run out. Yes, let's go there.
Oh, and he also said that he believes any pro-marijuana legislation would be a signal to young people that's it's okay to use drugs.
Well, the majority of studies show that just isn't the case. They actually show that states that have legalized marijuana see a decrease in teen usage.
So who do we have on the pro-marijuana side? El Paso's own Joe Moody, that's who!
Representative Moody has continually presented bills to decriminalize or expand the medical use of marijuana. His most recent, House Bill 447, would allow possession up to 2.5 ounces for anyone over 21 years old. The limit for concentrates would be 15 grams, and Texans would be allowed to have up to 12 cannabis plants in their homes.