DPA Report: Employment Rates Rise Due to CO Cannabis Legalization

Many naysayers and anti-pot propagandists warned of the impending doom and chaos to society that legalizing cannabis would cause. However, as we have seen, cannabis legalization in Colorado has brought in substantial revenue and created a whole new field of government taxable businesses and jobs.

High Times reported last year that the industry created over ten thousand new jobs and brought in approximately $19 million a month. Author Mike Adams does well to note in his article that all of these new jobs did not exist a year prior. During Denver’s first ever cannabis job fair last year, some businesses were offering bud trimmers as much as $15 per hour pay.

Economists among us surely know that more money in the hands of the people means more spending, and a healthier economy. All this to say, rather than bringing about the end of society as we know it, cannabis legalization is only improving the job market and giving people a good time.

Now we have the Drug Policy Alliance report to back up the claims of the many benefits of cannabis legalization in Colorado as well. According to the report, arrests for possession of weed have gone down by a whopping 84% since 2010. Although fewer people being arrested for cannabis possession in a state where it is now legal to possess cannabis should come as no surprise, it is important to note that this is saving the state quite a bit of money in processing arrests.

As the report reads, “Given that arrests such as these cost roughly $300 to adjudicate, it is reasonable to infer that the state is saving millions in adjudicatory costs for possession cases alone in 2014 compared to 2010.” Yes, that is millions of dollars being saved (or rather that the state and judicial system are no longer wasting) thanks to arrests for the victimless crime of weed possession. Not to mention the funds saved from housing and feeding those who do end up in the joint for weed.

The report also indicates that crime rates have gone down since legalization. “Violent crime in Denver went down by 2.2% in the first 11 months of 2014, compared with the first 11 months of 2013. In the same period, burglaries in Denver decreased by 9.5% and overall property crime decreased by 8.9%.” Traffic fatalities also went down by 3% in 2014, although we can only speculate as to how cannabis legalization may have contributed to this change.

The most catching information in the report may be the economic benefits of legalization, with unemployment rates in Colorado reaching a 6 year low. The report finds that tax revenue for retail cannabis sales generated $40.9 million between January 2014 and October 2014, and that doesn’t even include funds from medical marijuana or state licensing fees. It seems like Colorado is doing quite well with the new green market. What is the downside of legalization again?