Federal Marijuana Legalization Is the Cure Our COVID-Ravaged Economy

Federal Marijuana Legalization Is the Cure Our COVID-Ravaged Economy Needs (Source nationalreview.com) In March, as the Coronavirus pandemic ravaged the country, President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) — a $2 trillion emergency-relief package, the largest of its kind in American history — into law. Last month, Trump signed off on an additional $484 billion largely intended to support the newly created Paycheck Protection Program.

Yet as businesses remain closed and many states pump the brakes on their phased reopening plans, it is unlikely that the economy will rebound to its post-pandemic state anytime soon. With so many industries at a complete or partial shutdown and nearly 18 million Americans out of work, it’s time for the United States to begin examining potential economies of scope rather than scale. One potentially lucrative new revenue stream? Legal marijuana. Even before the pandemic, marijuana represented a massive untapped revenue stream for governments. Drawing on the most recent available data from a 2018 Cato Institute study, Dwight Blake of AmericanMarijuana.org estimated that the fiscal windfall that would be achieved through drug legalization could amount to $53.23 billion dollars in annual budgetary gains for federal, state, and local governments.

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