Senate legislation to deregulate marijuana could give a boost to states that have legalized and taxed the drug and dedicated the revenues to social programs.
Last week, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), introduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which would end the federal marijuana prohibition by removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and leave marijuana laws to states to legislate.
While many of the goals surrounding the legislation involve criminal justice — for instance, the bill would expunge federal cannabis records — the plan also opens the door for states to bring in more revenue through taxing the plant.
States that already have legal marijuana sales would benefit from some of the hurdles of federal criminalization being removed, and the legislation could spur new states to pass laws permitting the drug’s sale.
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“States who have legalized it bring in hundreds of millions of dollars every year in revenue,” said Richard Auxier, a senior policy associate at the Tax Policy Center, pointing out that states that have had legalization in place for longer tend to have better sales infrastructure and thus bring in even more money.
Currently, 18 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized the…
