Why Legalizing Cannabis Can Help The United States

Currently there are many reasons why someone diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) would want to advocate for legalizing medical and recreational marijuana or cannabis, but this is not a perspective trying to advocate for the medical benefits; this is for the economic benefit of legalizing cannabis nationwide. We are a capitalist society and people really like money. What if I told you there is a product that does not need any advertising other than an explanation on where to buy it? A product that sells itself? A product you can tax.

Currently the United States is reaching our Real GDP and Potential GDP which means that we are “at full output.” If cannabis was legal across the states, our potential GDP would grow by billions that is not able to be accurately calculated due to the harsh laws on cannabis. Our government is broke, we have a lot of debt, we have an opioid crisis, and we have a population of people who will go out and buy cannabis every day making this industry incredibly profitable and this industry could very easily be taken over by small businesses popping up locally in different communities. I support the notion we should be enjoying the product on private property, never in public, and to be taken seriously when it comes to underage use just like alcohol. No one should be driving under the influence of cannabis and I would heavily advocate for taxation on the product, right now prices for cannabis are considered low. If family owned and private companies can cut costs on producing and growing the product, there will be a direct competition for low prices like we see with fast food companies and industries with little difference in product varying the brand. Brands and strains will be able to be trademarked, patented and capitalized on. Maybe in a few years’ corporations will pop up that directly work with the federal government to bring in large amounts of tax revenue and work with local or state governments to supply tax revenue that can help rebuild our towns and cities. While tax revenue is a great argument for legalization, I also want to bring up creating jobs in an industry that could explode. Hundreds of thousands of jobs will be rapidly in need in the growing industry. In states that have legalized cannabis, they have seen an explosion of employment.

The opioid epidemic is killing Americans young middle aged and old across the nation. Since I just had surgery and was prescribed these pain killers, this is my personal review on how I felt; I was agitated and loopy, I had withdrawal while the meds wore off and was in more pain that before I had taken them. I use CBD oil instead now since I had already been a user I had a lot of confidence in it. CBD oil is the chemical in hemp that relieves pain, anxiety, and can help with a load of medical issues. This does not get you high or loopy, your mood won’t change unless it improves and it is safe to take, will not cause vomiting like my opium prescription did and can also help your appetite. CBD oil is legal in almost all 50 states so why shouldn’t pharmaceutical companies manufacture a safe pain killer that you would have to consume half of your body weight to overdose on? The answer is not clear, however I do know it is not addictive and addiction means there will be a much steadier flow of income. If we had concentrated capsules that worked as pain killers for various types of pain instead of the opium maybe, we could prevent a lot of accidental deaths happening in our communities.