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Ten states that have legalized the use of marijuana for recreational purposes collected almost $2.7 billion in taxes on pot products last year as sales surged and more regulatory structures came online.
A new report from the Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization group, estimates that states have collected a total of $7.9 billion in tax revenue since the first states — Washington and Colorado — began allowing recreational pot sales in 2014.
When the pandemic started, medical cannabis dispensaries were deemed "essential businesses" in New Jersey. Green Thumb Industries, which operates two Rise medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, said the categorization of these cannabis businesses as "essential" pushed the industry forward.
The shift from illicit to essential business helped destigmatize the industry, which is now set to expand into recreational cannabis after New Jersey voters chose to legalize marijuana in November.
More than 40 percent of Americans now live in states — 18 in total — that have embraced full legalization. Roughly two-thirds of American back legal weed, according to polls.
The acceptance of legal weed by governors and state lawmakers in 2021 — without the explicit blessing of voters — marks a turning point. Until this year, only two states had legalized recreational marijuana programs through the legislature: Illinois in 2019 and Vermont in 2020.
“The type of talent that we were trying to attract in 2017 wasn’t interested (in the marijuana sector). Now, they’re banging down our door,” said Joey Muehlstein, director of talent acquisition at Green Thumb Industries, a Chicago-based multistate operator that in 2020 hired about 1,300 people, roughly doubling its workforce.
Green Thumb received more than 700 applications for a recent job listing for a regional retail director. “We get to be very selective in who we speak to and who we’d like to interview,” Muehlstein added. “The bar is raised.”
During the tumultuous weeks and months of the past year, a nine-letter word emerged as a game changer for the nation’s legal marijuana industry: “essential.”
It began about a week after the World Health Organization on March 11 declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic.
That’s when California announced a statewide business lockdown, followed by Illinois.
Both states also designated marijuana operators as “essential” – along with pharmacies, supermarkets and liquor stores – and those businesses were allowed to stay open.
While the virus crisis was a major priority of state officials and lobbyists last year, Brindle said the push to legalize marijuana in New Jersey also lead to heavy spending.
Preliminary figures indicate pro-marijuana advocates jointly spent at least $1.5 million on lobbying in 2020. Several of the same advocates also contributed most of the $2.3 million spent to secure passage of a legalization ballot question in November 2020. Marijuana backers also contributed $65,000 to other committees and candidates last year.
Virginia is close to becoming the first Southern state to get a tax revenue high as it moves to legalize recreational weed.
A bill passed Sunday in both the state’s House of Delegates and Senate is awaiting the signature of Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat.
Once signed, the Old Dominion would officially join 15 other states and the District of Columbia that have legalized marijuana for adult recreational use. Though under the Virginia bill, legal sales and possession would not take effect until 2024.
New Jersey officially became the 13th state to legalize marijuana as Gov. Phil Murphy last week signed three bills that put an exclamation point on the will of Garden State voters. Twenty other states, including Pennsylvania, have legalized medical marijuana use. The federal government still considers any marijuana use as a crime.
For two years, New Jersey lawmakers had failed to mobilize enough support to pass a bill to fully legalize marijuana. Instead, they agreed in December to put the question directly to voters: “Do you approve amending the Constitution to legalize a controlled form of marijuana called ‘cannabis’?”
Then March roared in, and the world turned upside down.
The coronavirus took a firm hold in the United States and Black Lives Matter protesters filled streets from coast to coast.
But the coronavirus pandemic is influencing how locals feel about legalization, according to a recent poll from Brach Eichler’s Cannabis Law Practice. Participants who previously planned to vote against the measure in November have since changed their mind. About 21% said the outbreak has reshaped their position on cannabis.
Among those survey, 13.5% said the pandemic caused them to now favor legalization while 7.5% now oppose such action. In total, the poll reported 65% of New Jersey residents strongly supported or somewhat supported the ballot question.
