The Positive Effect of Medical Marijuana on the Economy

For years now there has been concerns over the state of the manufacturing industry and if it will ever reach the previous pre-recession highs.  The automotive, aerospace, and building/construction industries among others have only recently begun to improve.  One industry with untapped growth potential is the medical and recreational marijuana industries.  As state governments change their laws regarding the legality of marijuana in their state, a whole new production industry is starting from scratch to meet the demand.

Medical marijuana production

Why the Marijuana Industry is Growing

Until fairly recently marijuana was illegal under both state and federal law.  This has changed with Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington making the use of both recreational and medicinal marijuana completely legal.  Many additional states including almost all in the northeast and the southwest have changed their laws to make marijuana for medical purposes legal.  Numerous additional states have legislation under review and up for vote to determine if the status will change.

The Marijuana Industry Creates Jobs

With the status of marijuana changing in states all across the country, the infrastructure for marijuana production must be created from scratch.  A study from the Las Vegas based RCG Economics group concluded that legalizing recreational marijuana would add more than 6,200 jobs in the first four years in the state of Nevada.   This would also create millions of tax dollars and would create nearly 3,000 jobs in related industries like security firms, attorneys and transportation companies.  In Connecticut the use of medical marijuana is growing with over 500 physicians currently registered to recommend treatment up from 81 in September 2014. Miami-Dade county has recently investigated the effects of medical marijuana production and has estimated that 125 direct jobs, 75 indirect jobs, and 102 construction related jobs could be created with an annual impact of nearly $62 million, a figure that would grow in the next 10 years.  With these kinds of economic numbers, it’s clear that more cities and states will be looking to bring production of medical marijuana locally in an effort to generate revenue and create jobs.

At Cheever we understand this is a new industry that is rapidly growing.  In our previous blog Who Put Paper in My Marijuana? we have explored the benefits of specialty paper in the process of extracting marijuana for the oils.  As a specialty paper supplier we work with growers, medical labs and production facilities to help them find the correct parchment paper, the correct size paper, and to educate them about printing on certain materials, and what oils work best with what paper.  For more information on how we can assist please contact us.