Due to its miraculous healing properties, its legal use, production, and distribution are becoming legal and popular gradually across the world. Recently, Uruguay became the first nation to do this. In May, it legalized recreational cannabis. The following year, Canada followed suit and legalized the same. In 2021, it became the second country to legalized recreational cannabis.
The government of Uruguay recognizes the fact that the cannabis industry has many benefits that can benefit society. It aims to facilitate the cannabis industry by removing all laws that criminalize its production, distribution, and consumption. According to Health Canada, the cannabis industry represents approximately $7 billion a year in Canada and employs over half a million people. The government’s plan to legalize and regulate the cannabis industry is estimated to generate over $1.9 billion in revenue over the next four years. Considering that the cannabis industry contributes over 25% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), this means a tremendous boost in tax income for the government.
The tax revenues generated from legalizing cannabis will mainly be used to develop more cannabis cultivation and processing facilities and to hire more workers in the cannabis industry. It is also expected that the tax revenues will be channeled to developing research and development opportunities in the cannabis sector in Uruguay. This is one of the reasons why the government of Uruguay is considering recreational cannabis legalization. The advantages of this step are that the tax revenues will be utilized to further promote research and development in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors in Uruguay; generate job opportunities in the processing and production centers; reduce crime due to cannabis trade, and protect young adolescents from cannabis.
Another one of the cannabis benefits is the reduction of substance abuse and addiction. During the time that cannabis use was not illegal, it was frequently sold in street pharmacies along with other drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamines. Since these substances were more difficult to get hold of, users were forced to resort to buying them on the black market. Over time, the users started to experiment with smoking cannabis without getting high by mixing different varieties with alcohol. Eventually, this habit turned into a serious addiction that required professional and psychological treatment.
Today, marijuana use has significantly decreased while the consumption of other hard drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamines has significantly increased. In fact, a recent study showed that there is currently no better substance that can provide a positive result when it comes to treating severe depression and anxiety than cannabis does. This is one of the reasons why the Canadian government has decided to legalize and regulate the cannabis industry. Other cannabis benefits include the fact that studies have shown that chronic smokers are less likely to suffer from cancer and glaucoma.
Although the effects of legalizing cannabis are yet to be established, many experts believe that the results so far suggest that the benefits of legalized cannabis are quite tremendous. Some of the most notable countries that are experimenting with legalized cannabis are Australia, Canada, Uruguay, and Switzerland. Although many governments around the world have taken the position that cannabis use should be strictly illegal, some countries have actually legalized the production, sale, and distribution of this plant. It is estimated that cannabis users in these countries alone account for billions of dollars in revenue. Therefore, the time is right for countries all over the world to take a step towards cannabis legalization.