The call for making marijuana legal on different states is rapidly gaining pace as well as the profits gained from it. In a not so far future, legalizing it in every state is highly probable.
California together with Washington and 22 other states are now legalizing marijuana for medical use. Since 1996, it has gained momentum in the field of medicine and is prescribed by the physician for specific and different types of ailments. The Obama administration has removed some hurdles regarding the legalization of marijuana. Although government as a whole is still keen on keeping it illegal just like in the 1996 federal government.
Due to the rapid expansion of marijuana as a legal medical cure, the call for recreational marijuana is now also in the discussion. Washington, Colorado, Oregon, and Alaska are the four states that approved the use of recreational marijuana since 2012. But other states like Nevada is also joining the caravan as it acquired enough signatures to get a recreational initiative on its ballots. Other states like Ohio and California are also seen to make this same move by November.
According to the study of ArcView, the sales generated from legal marijuana could balloon for the next upcoming years. The projected growth from 2016-2020 will be estimated to soar to $22 billion. This is the result of the continued state-level efforts of legalizing it. A recent survey by Gallup also showed a high number of the population are now supporting the use of legal marijuana at 58% compared to the support it had in the 90's wherein it only got 25% approval from the public.
If people look at the numbers, then they would really think that doing legal marijuana business is profitable. But the government's inaction on this issue is blocking the way for the business to grow. Since marijuana is still seen as illegal, most banks shy away from this types of businesses. This hurdle makes it hard for marijuana businesses to open accounts and credit lines making them deal with mostly cash which is seen as a security risk deeming the expansion very slow.
Due to the marijuana's image as illegal, it also draws negativity when it comes to taxes, but because it is a business, they still need to pay their due. Marijuana businesses cannot get the usual benefits that other legal businesses get like standard business deduction, such as rent and on their taxes. Overall, the marijuana business gets overtaxed.
This why marijuana should be seen as a prospect and not as a mainline level business opportunity. Although many people are now seeing its benefits and supporting its cause, as long as the government sees it as illegal, then this business should still be placed on the sideline.
