The streets of New York have an unmistakable smell of marijuana. Also those of Los Angeles and San Francisco, those of Chicago and Atlanta. Since Colorado legalized recreational consumption a decade ago, states have been falling like dominoes, and today 40 have legalized it for at least medicinal consumption and 24 for recreational consumption. Use has skyrocketed to the point that for the first time it has surpassed daily alcohol consumption nationwide. With this boom have come multiple and varied benefits, from the destigmatization of consumption to the growth of a multi-million dollar industry and an important source of tax revenue. It is undoubtedly a story of political and economic success, but it hides a couple of shadows, such as problematic consumption to which a blind eye is turned and the thousands of prisoners who remain incarcerated for past possession crimes.
The proportion of Americans who are regular marijuana smokers has more than doubled since 2013, according to the Gallup pollster. At that time, 7% of adults said they smoked regularly. Now the number is around 17%, about 44 million people. Another recent study adds that almost half of those report using cannabis daily or almost daily, which means that, for the first time in history, more people smoke marijuana every day than drink alcohol daily. It is difficult to make a detailed comparison with other countries because there is not much data, but with what there is, the United States is among those with the highest prevalence of consumption.
It is by no means a minor milestone in a country that throughout the 20th century followed prohibitionism as a model, first precisely with alcohol, and then with other drugs. Marijuana, in particular, was the subject of alarmist and misleading campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s. It’s quite a story of stigmatization. In fact, the word “marijuana” is a product of this, being popularized in the 1940s, as it generated an association of cannabis with the Mexican migrant population of the time. But since the beginning of this century, and especially since 2014, public opinion has changed profoundly: If in 2000 30% supported legalization, a number that had remained stable for almost 30 years, today almost 70% of Americans agree.
It is one thing to legalize and regulate, and another to legalize and commercialize, says Dr. Deepak D’Souza, director of the Yale Center for the Science of Cannabis and Cannabinoids. “It is commercialization that increases the use of cannabis. The cannabis industry is already in the billions and growing. The ultimate goal for companies is to sell more product, but we should remember the impact of tobacco marketing, that changed everything.”
Dr. D’Souza is referring to the level of availability to purchase cannabis products, but also the marketing of them. On the one hand, if we compare that, according to Pew data, 54% of Americans live in a state where recreational marijuana is legal, but 79% live in a county with at least one dispensary – as stores specialized in the sale of cannabis and derived products are known – the difference between legalization and commercialization becomes more evident. On the other hand, if we take into account that in addition to smoking flower, countless products containing THC such as candy or drinks are also sold, which usually come in colorful packaging almost indistinguishable from candy and soft drinks aimed at minors, the problem of the excesses of commercialization is even clearer.
However, in the face of voices urging caution like that of Dr. D’Souza, the cash registers are deafening. According to Statista, the cannabis industry will generate $40 billion in 2024, compared to the $7.6 billion it generated in 2016, at the beginning of the legal era. By 2028 it is estimated that it will reach 67,000 million. It’s no small thing. Today it is double what the chocolate industry generates annually in the United States and a figure similar to Coca Cola’s annual profits in the country.
Consequently, the development of an entire multi-billion dollar market has also resulted in an exponential increase in tax collection in the States where it has been legalized. In 2014 it was close to 70 million dollars annually, mainly due to the medical cannabis market; In 2023, more than $4 billion was raised among all States with some type of legal market. From this perspective, there are few incentives for caution and all incentives to continue promoting the industry, which also generates thousands of jobs throughout the country.
The shadows of mental health, road safety and prisoners
But although there are almost no incentives, there are arguments; mainly in terms of health. “There are short-term and long-term consequences… Short-term are those that occur immediately after consuming cannabis. These are the typical effects and the reason why most people use it to relax, reduce anxiety, promote sleep, facilitate social interactions, etc. But some of these effects can affect others as well. For example, cannabis impairs psychomotor coordination, which could interfere with operating a vehicle,” says Dr. D’Souza. The limited studies that have been done on the matter have revealed that there are a correlation between legalization and an increase in deaths caused by road accidents of a
round 10%.
In the medium and long term the risks are different and have to do with addiction and mental health. With greater use, but also with THC levels—the active psychedelic component of cannabis—on the rise, the dangers in these matters are also greater. Over the past few decades, THC content has gone from an average of 4% in 1995 to 17% in 2017, and probably higher today. As if that were not enough, there are also many products such as oils, dabs and legal edibles that can have levels of up to 90% THC.
“There is a convergence of evidence supporting the relationship between cannabis exposure and the risk of schizophrenia. The sooner the use begins, the greater the intensity of consumption and the use of more powerful presentations generates a greater risk. There is also an increased risk of developing bipolar disorder, acute depression and suicide… The same analogy could be used as smoking and lung cancer: not all smokers develop lung cancer and not everyone who has lung cancer has been smokers, but the correlation is very clear,” explains Dr. D’Souza.
The most extreme cases of psychosis and suicide related to problematic cannabis use have been increasing, according to the few studies that exist, especially in people who began regular use during adolescence, when the brain is still developing and is more vulnerable. However, it must be taken into account that there are important genetic factors in all of these conditions. And that, despite these risks, moderate marijuana use is remarkably low-risk on a physical, psychological or social level when compared to other stronger drugs, or even alcohol and tobacco.
Beyond health, the great stain on the triumphant wave of marijuana legalization is retroactive: there are still thousands of people in prisons in the country for crimes related to cannabis. Although since 2017 there have been very few incarcerations for marijuana, less than one hundred, current data They estimate that the number of prisoners at present is close to 32,000, although the numbers are not exact because there are different crimes such as possession or trafficking.
President Biden has spoken on multiple occasions about this. “No one should be imprisoned for the use or possession of marijuana,” he said a few months ago, reflecting popular opinion on the matter. In an election year, during which the vote of young people and minorities can be key, the candidate for re-election has used this message in an attempt to secure votes. There are rumors that he will sign an order in the coming months that would release thousands of prisoners for minor crimes such as possession, but nothing has been confirmed so far.
Beyond the electoral calculation, this shows that there is an awareness to tie up the loose ends left by an advanced legalization with relatively little planning and an economic emphasis. Along these lines, the imminent change in the classification of cannabis from a controlled substance from Schedule I – the highest, which considers that it has no use and groups it with heroin – to Schedule III – a more lax classification that would put it next to substances such as ketamine or anabolic steroids—aims to achieve consistency between state and federal laws. The main effect that this would have is that it would substantially free up the possibility of carrying out countless detailed studies on the potential uses of cannabis and also its risks.
Ten years after legal recreational marijuana was first sold in the United States, the cannabis boom is just beginning.
#success #CocaCola #cannabis #industry #generates #business #million
