Here we are once again, inside another political cycle. It seems like the last four years have just flown by. With the extreme clash of personality between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, many media outlets are dubbing this upcoming presidential election as one of the most important in the modern era. There will be several issues that will be on display, defense against terrorism, immigration, nationwide debt and last, but not least, health care. During the last administration there have been some sweeping changes in American health care. For example the affordable care act and maybe more controversially, the sweeping trend of states passing legislation that decriminalizes and, in some cases, legalizes the use of marijuana and related medical marijuana businesses.
More States Legalizing Cannabis means More Cannabis Business Development and Investing
Ever since Colorado legalized cannabis, investors have been putting money into booming market that is cannabis business development. While cannabis investment opportunities seemed like a long shot years ago, recent data has shown that with the public’s shifting perception on medical marijuana(recent surveys suggest that over half of Americans support some type of legislation for making the use of medical marijuana legal) the future of cannabis business development can mean big dollars for investors who find ways to invest in the cannabis industry. For example, recent studies have shown that investment in the $1.5 billion cannabis industry grew a staggering 74% between the years of 2014 and 2015. To put how massive the industry will become in the coming years, here is something to keep in mind: the cannabis industry in the next five years is expected to net larger revenues than the film, organic food and NFL.
The Fate of Legal Marijuana across the Country May be Riding on the Presidential Election
With the Democratic National Convention currently in full swing many of the marijuana legalization lobbyists are hoping that the Democrats will be sympathetic to their cause. Due to the standard republican opposition to blanket legalization, many pro-pot lobbyist would consider a Trump victory a loss for universal medical marijuana legislation. While neither Trump nor Clinton have been spending much time addressing the marijuana debate at length, opting to tackle the more timely matters of national security and immigration, marijuana use legislation is more traditionally a progressive issue.Although marijuana has been legalized to some extent in at least 23 of 50 states, including the District of Columbia, it is important to remember that cannabis is still a federally controlled substance. This means that depending on the prerogative of the government there could be large scale interference with cannabis business development even if it is state sanctioned.
Each election cycle is like a a double sided sword. We are given glints of what can be– a future, that is hopefully a better one under new leadership. But we are also shown how divisive our political system can be with attacks and all our prejudices laid out on display. It seems like with this election there has been almost as much of an emphasis on who not to select rather than who to select. That is why, more than ever, it is important to research the issues that mean the most to you, not to only listen to the talking heads or the media hype.
Think about it, 90 years ago in 1920s America much of the public’s perception of marijuana was the same how we consider the damaging effects of meth or crack today. Much of this was due to uniformed propaganda that spread misinformation based off of an appeal to raw emotion. Even today many people are victims of misinformation. Although opinion in the medical and field and the public arena has shifted substantial about the benefits of medical marijuana, the funding for studies on the medical applications of marijuana are still severally lacking.