By A new legislative report submitted to Maryland legislators this week projects that the national market for legal cannabis could reach $72 billion annually by 2030, which is the current market estimate. That’s more than double the $32 billion. But the report also found that several states that have legalized cannabis have failed to set clear social equity goals, and that the nation’s regulated marijuana market lacks proportionate representation of black-owned businesses. is showing.
Lawmakers in Maryland are examining how legalized adult-use marijuana will affect the state, and voters will decide to legalize recreational marijuana in this month’s general election. On Tuesday, the Maryland House of Representatives’ Cannabis Referendum and Legalization Working Group met virtually to evaluate a report on the national cannabis regulatory environment.
$75 billion industry
reportIt was prepared by Matthew Swinburne, Associate Director of the Public Health Law Network in Eastern Baltimore, and presented to the working group to ensure the steady growth of the national market as the current market matures and new states develop. It contains information from New Frontier Data that predicts the . Added to the legal cannabis state roster. The forecast estimates that in 2022 he will grow from $32 billion and by 2030 the total market across the country will be his $72 billion.
“We know the cannabis industry is a profitable one.” swinburne said“This is a new industry full of economic opportunities, and those opportunities are growing,” he added. “While the industry offers some significant economic opportunities, communities of color are missing out on this cannabis boom.”
Swinburne told the working group that employment in the cannabis industry has increased from about 321,000 in 2020 to about 428,000 a year later. But the report also notes that 81% of cannabis businesses are owned by white people, and 58% of businesses have no employees who are members of minority groups.
Efforts to address the lack of diversity in the cannabis industry have been inconsistent, the report notes. Social equity measures to improve fair representation in industry have not been implemented.
Swinburne emphasizes several states’ approaches to social equity, and Connecticut has announced that medical marijuana business owners may seek assistance from new small or minority-owned businesses to provide assistance over a specified period of time. pointed out that it offers financial incentives for partnering with By allowing couriers and distributors to deliver cannabis products directly to consumers, Massachusetts provides an accessible opportunity to enter the market. And in New York, regulators set up her $200 million fund to support social equity businesses and became the first in the state to obtain her 100 recreational cannabis dispensary licenses. Preference was given to those who were convicted.
Charles County Rep. C.T. Wilson, chairman of the House Economic Affairs Committee, told Swinburne how taxation in other states with legal cannabis would affect the illegal market and sale of illegal marijuana. I asked him if he did.
“That’s a distinct challenge facing the state,” Swinburne replied. “If your goal is to reduce the share of the unlicensed market, then you have to keep the licensed market competitive. have a moral obligation to deal with [in low-income communities]”
Sen. Melonie Griffiths of Prince George County asked whether states that legalized recreational marijuana had implemented policies such as inequality surveys that required them to “produce evidence of simple racial remedies.” But Swinburne said the report did not assess the issue. in that analysis.
Maryland Voters Decide to Legalize Weed
In next week’s midterm elections, Maryland voters will decide Question 4, a referendum to amend the state constitution to legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older from July 2023. The measure also directs state legislatures to pass laws on marijuana use, distribution, regulation, and taxation.
Marijuana is now legal for medical use in Maryland under a 2013 law, but possession of 10 grams or less of cannabis was decriminalized in 2014. Washington Post and the University of Maryland shows 73% agree with the proposal.
Prince George County voter Tamara McKinney told Maryland Matters that she plans to vote yes on question 4, but the launch of the state’s recreational marijuana program has caused black and brown people to vote. community, and those imprisoned for cannabis related crimes.
“Decriminalizing it will help keep our men out of crime. [criminal justice] system,” she said. “But if it helps keep them out of the system, what are we doing to keep them out? [of jail]We want them to have more resources than just the ability to get high.? ”
