As California, Nevada and other states (and even countries like Canada) move forward with legalization proposals in 2016 and the next few years, they will undoubtedly look at the experiences of states that have already regulated and legalized cannabis commerce among adults. Colorado has gotten the head start in the legalization of recreational marijuana, celebrating three full years of legalization and two full years of state-regulated cannabis commerce. Well, it looks like the legalization experience in Colorado has gone well for the state. Art Way of the Drug Policy Alliance posted about the reduction in arrests, the millions in new revenue and how the sky hasn’t fallen as prohibitionists predicted:
The destruction imagined by opponents of legalization in 2012 never came true and is unlikely to materialize. Public safety benchmarks are under scrutiny in a manner never seen under prohibition and there is no real cause for panic in the foreseeable future. In short, the current state of legalization is more reflective of the world imagined by proponents – legalization works!
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1) Thousands Not Arrested for Marijuana in Colorado
This initial and foundational aspect of marijuana legalization is often overlooked – marijuana arrests in Colorado have plummeted. We’ve seen possession, cultivation and distribution charges for marijuana cumulatively drop over 80%. Thousands of people in the state are no longer facing the immediate or collateral impact of a marijuana arrest. These thousands we speak of are disproportionally young black and brown men who now face one less obstacle of the many they endure in this country. We’ve also seen all drug-related charges drop by 23% on a judicial district level since the passage of amendment 64.
2) Revenue Allocation for Important Services
Colorado is projected to have brought in over 125 million dollars in taxes for 2015. These monies are put into a fund to improve local public schools or are collected by the state to be divvied up via the Governor’s allocation plan. The Governor’s plan provides a snapshot as to what a public health approach to marijuana looks like—funds are distributed to public education, behavioral health, law enforcement and youth prevention.
Regulating an industry for the first time is going to have complications and gowing (yes, pun intended) pains. One of the most difficult tasks is protecting the existing medical program and ensuring that sick and disabled patients, many of whom suffering through poverty as well, something that longtime activists in these early states know all too well already. The desire of the government, and some in the industry, to maximize revenue can come at the expense of patients’ safe access and can lead to unnecessary arrests for marijuana (even after cannabis has been legalized).
Regardless of the difficulties of legalizing cannabis commerce, regulation is a much better policy than prohibition, a harmful policy that imprisons nonviolent citizens and denies patients’ safe access to a safe medicine. But as an industry and community, we can’t ignore the implications of regulations or forget why we sought to legalize cannabis in the first place. The results in Colorado are very promising and will likely lead more states to legalize cannabis, a positive development for the cannabis community and the rest of the country, but let’s hope that some of the millions, if not billions, generated for company and government coffers will go towards helping our most vulnerable patients.
