Illinois is one of the American states that was in deep financial crisis. It now looks to Marijuana which could provide the much-needed boost to its finances because it plans to the first state in the Midwest to legalize and tax recreational pot. Two Democrats in the state legislature have initiated the process and, have introduced a bill to change the law. Their argument is that such a strategy could help to raise necessary funds and, boost the earnings of the state.
The future is bright
New Zealand Herald reports that, if the bill goes through, Illinois would be the ninth state in the United States to make recreational pot legal.
If Washington DC is taken into account, it will translate into an astounding figure of more than 80m Americans who would get to enjoy cannabis. If Canada with a population of nearly 36 million follows the trend, it would mean an enormous potential market of recreational pot users across North America. It could cross the 100 million mark and, that is a market no one can ignore.
The employment generated by the marijuana industry is also impressive. As indicated in one of the related websites, companies that engage in cannabis-related activities employ more than 100,000 workers. The broad breakup is - 27,000 in cultivation, 52,000 in dispensaries and 66,000 in ancillary industries. It is the fact that cannabis is one of North America's fastest-growing industries and, is expected to generate more jobs.
Incidentally, the industry has attracted a section of Britons in the region north of San Francisco. This is the area where most of the American cannabis is grown and, these men are experts in snipping the leaves of the plant to expose the highly valued buds rich in cannabis resin.
The flip side of the coin
The marijuana industry could face problems as far as banking is concerned because recreational pot is legal in only some of the states and, there are fears that investors could fall easy prey to scams that involve investment in getting rich quick schemes.
The industry is keen to widen its customer base and, hence, have gone in for variety. Cannabis drinks with different flavors like cherry or root beer are marketed apart from cannabis-infused consumables like berry lemonade and fruit punch elixirs. To top it all, the innovation has even gone into chocolates and, the Business potential continues to grow.