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There are undoubtedly more important issues to think about during this turbulent time in America than the legalization of marijuana. Like, for example, keeping away from any and all of those demon bugs out there that have set their sights on the population and are taking it out one by one. Or, the fact that the near shutdown of the entire United States – the whole world, really — has crippled the economy, cost millions of people their jobs and now, regardless of whether a person earned $10 or $100 per hour at the time of the masked apocalypse, everyone is slobbering on the same welfare titty. The American Dream, if such a thing still exists, has been reduced from having 2.5 kids, an honest wife, a white picket fence around a beautiful home, to just surviving long enough to take in the last bit of boating season and the return of the NBA.
There’s no other way to slice it, we are now living in the Land of the Destitute and the Diseased. This damn micro-varmint, which is pummeling parts of the country, has consumed every word, every line in the media, lockdowns are the new normal, and we’re all broke and just trying to survive.
The latest predictions coming from a pack of panicked economists suggests that no matter what the U.S. government chooses to name it, the country is spiraling quick into deep shit territory that will rival the Great Depression. The stock market is already in the crapper, the DOW is on its knees, and the unemployment rate is close to 32 percent. To put this into perspective, the U.S. hasn’t taken it on the chin quite like this since 1933 when joblessness was right around 25 percent.
That’s right, in a lot of ways, the United States is worse off now than during the Depression, back when incomes dropped by 40 percent and suicide rates skyrocketed. St. Louis economist Miguel Faria-e-Castro wrote last week: “These are very large numbers by historical standards, but this is a rather unique shock that is unlike any other experienced by the U.S. economy in the last 100 years.”
Although it might seem that certain doom is on the horizon, the world is probably not going to end this way. Hell no, we’re not getting off that easy. Sure, there will be more adversity — more than we’d care to endure – before this calamity pulls out of its downward spiral and steadies the course in wait for the next disaster. But most of us will survive. Right now, the country is just white-knuckling it down a very dark and disturbing path and hoping for the best – whatever that may be.
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In true capitalistic fashion, the U.S. government wants to throw money at the problem. It’s the reason that all of you fine folks are about to get some stimulus cash ($1200 per adult, $500 per child) dropped into the old bank account. Uncle Sam is making a last-ditch effort to get things rocking again in the diseased world. But this is only a temporary solution in trying to resurrect a zombie economy. More permanent solutions will need to be put into place soon, or it’s curtains for the red, white and blue. No shit, this nation cannot survive without the well-oiled machine of commerce and the middle class. Somewhere around 70 percent of the national economy is consumer spending. We need businesses providing goods and services and people dropping cash on shit they don’t really need if we, as a nation, ever expect to bask in the waters of prosperity again.
The good news is the situation is creating a perfect opportunity for marijuana to go legal nationwide. Even though marijuana legalization has only taken hold at the state level, the cannabis industry has proven to be a worthy candidate for the next inception of American domination. In every state where the law has changed, allowing adults 21 and older to buy weed from dispensaries in the same way as beer, the result has been nothing short of economic salvation.
Even businesses that have nothing to do with marijuana are reaping the benefits of legalization, long before the first ounce is ever sold. Realtors, contractors and interior design pros are some of the first to get paid. In fact, some of the most impoverished communities have been brought back to life in this manner. Just ask anyone in Pueblo, Colorado, which was left for dead after the collapse of the steel industry. Legal weed has provided the city with an economic impact of between $58 million and $100 million since 2016, according to a study from Colorado State University-Pueblo.
To that end, statewide marijuana legalization often leads to the creation of tens of thousands of brand new jobs, creating an environment where even unskilled workers can earn between $12 to $20 per hour. If taken to the national level, researchers with New Frontier Data believe the United States could see the development of more than 1.6 million jobs and contribute close to $130 billion in taxes. And that’s precisely the kind of cash cow that America the greedy needs to recover from economic castration. This realization could cause lawmakers on Capitol Hill to get serious about the legalization of marijuana once the nation is finally allowed to leave their homes again.
If you are skeptical of this prediction, all we have to say is history is bound to repeat itself sooner or later. After all, during the Great Depression, America was in desperate need of all of the jobs and tax revenue lost to alcohol prohibition. And everyone was suffering, too, for no good reason. Drinkers were still getting booze on the black market or through their neighborhood physicians. But with the legal industry inoperable, the only ones making any money during one of the most desperate times in American history were the criminal organizations.
Soon, enough was enough, and Democratic lawmakers pushed to legalize alcohol once again, ending 13 years of a dry America. Fast forward to now, and the alcohol trade remains one of the most significant contributors to the U.S. economy. It is responsible for employing more than 4 million people, and it pays Uncle Sam around $70 billion in annual tax revenue. It’s never going anywhere ever again. Considering the similarities, federal lawmakers may soon have no choice but to entertain marijuana legalization at the national level. In fact, the issue could get an enormous push in 2021 if the Democrats take control over Capitol Hill in the November election. A less likely scenario would be if Congress and the President ended pot prohibition yet this year. But neither the Republican Senate or President Trump has expressed any interest in making such a move. Yet, that was before the country was practically laid to economic waste in a matter of months.
The way that legalization happens – and it will — really just depends on whether lawmakers feel the nation can breathe on its own in post-apocalyptic times. One thing is certain, there could come a day in the not so distant future when new blood becomes essential to reviving the national economy in a way that allows it to thrive again without life support. Just don’t be surprised if that blood is green.