Cannabis legalization pushes forward, projected to provide over a million jobs by 2025

Cannabis legalization is just on the horizon, and it looks like it’ll be bringing more into the table than what is previously thought of.

New Frontier Data, the authority in data, analytics and business intelligence for the cannabis industry, conducted a study in Colorado back in March this year, and the results are showing good numbers.

According to the study, full adult use legalization of the plant after the implementation of the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act can generate over $105.6 billion in federal tax revenue and create over a million new jobs through an eight-year period, starting with an excess of 654,000 jobs if legalization happens in all 50 states today. The industry is also expected to increase at an annual rate of 17 percent. Medical marijuana sales are expected to grow from $4.7 billion back in 2016 to $13.3 billion in 2020, while adult recreational sales are projected to skyrocket from $2.6 billion to $11.2 billion.

By contrast, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected the manufacturing industry to lose over 814,000 jobs by 2024. It means that while more industries are slowly losing traction, the cannabis industry is steadily reaching new heights. This projected growth is bound to increase demands in regards to a wide array of industries. As a matter of fact, tourism has been boosted by the plant in states like Colorado and Washington.

Looking back, this is a rather big jump from 2015, where the legal marijuana industry made over 18,000 jobs and generated $2.4 billion in regards to economic growth. According to the Marijuana Policy Group, this was only a year after Colorado legalized sales in recreational marijuana. Marijuana Business Daily also reports that the industry currently employs 100,000 to 150,000 employees. It also reported that almost 90,000 of those workers are in the plant-touching side of the business.

That’s not all. A recent Gallup poll revealed that more Americans are warming to its use and legalization, with over 64 percent of the poll agreeing that it should be legal. This is a far cry from the first time Gallup asked some people about their views about the plant back in 1969, where only a measly 12 percent of the respondents agreed with its legalization. Public opinion vastly improved by 2001, with over a third of Americans supporting cannabis. Support has steadily increased ever since, with a majority of the nation pushing for its legalization since 2013. In fact, over 95 percent of Americans already live in states where access to medical marijuana is already in effect.

Even U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who previously rescinded an Obama-era policy that originally prevented federal law enforcement officials from hindering marijuana sales in states where it’s legal, turned out to be one of the best things to happen in the industry. This move galvanized policymakers instead, choosing to do the opposite, with even Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. announcing just last month a bill that would decriminalize marijuana under federal law, therefore removing it on the list of the Controlled Substances Act.

On a much brighter note, the burgeoning industry is also providing more opportunities not just for those who want to try their luck in the cannabis industry but also for people around the world.

One of these opportunities is the partnership between PotNetwork Holdings, Inc. (OTCMKTS:POTN) and Exponential, Inc. (XPO2), a young tech firm that believes societal impact is a substantial part of a good long-term business strategy and focuses all efforts into achieving this by operating as a Kickstarter for non-profit organizations (NGOs) all around the world that need sufficient funding to operate.

Through this exclusive affinity, Diamond CBD, a subsidiary of POTN, will act as CBD product supplier for XPO2, and the partner merchants of the tech company will sell the subsidiary’s entire lineup of CBD brands.

XPO2 acts as a crowdfunding and impact investing platform for different small to medium-scale NGOs and charities worldwide that need funding to operate. These groups are all cause-driven and engendering social change, and it is in the firm’s mission to give them an opportunity to show the world the kind of positive change that they can do and provide them a steady source of funds to progress with their projects.

To do this, XPO2 thoroughly vets an organization before creating a corresponding project page, where the firm promotes its cause and lets visitors make a direct contribution. It also developed a browser extension that directly connects consumers to exclusive discounts and deals, and the profit gained from this is then used as cashless contributions to different NGOs that can potentially provide a big net social impact.

To date, the technology firm — founded by French-American entrepreneur and CEO Dom Einhorn — has supported a high number of various cause-driven NGOs in several nations that specialize in different sectors like wildlife and environmental preservation, housing and education, to name a few. Through its partnership with POTN, the firm gets access to funds that they can then distribute to the various NGOs they have under their watch.

To date, the company has over 1,200 merchant partners around the world and has set its sights to helping 10,000 NGOs focused on strengthening communities and protecting the environment before this year ends.

Moving forward, it’s clear that the cannabis industry is still in its infancy, what with the long road ahead of it. But one thing’s for sure, seeing its direct effects on the industry, as well as its indirect effects outside of it, is enough to guarantee a long and welcome stay.

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