Right now, at this moment in time, America have 33 states in which the medical consumption of cannabis is completely legal. There are many people debating whether the UK should follow in the footsteps of these states. So, what would the costs and benefits be if it were to be legalised?

Generally in the Uk cannabis use is negatively stigmatised and surrounded by a plethora of myths. Examples of these are that it is a gateway drug (which is false as only 3% of illegal users in the UK said that the consumption of weed directly led to them taking other substances). Many people say that marijuana use is dangerous and damaging to your health, whilst excessive consumption can cause minor problems someone would have to smoke a comical 680kg of cannabis in order to overdose, explaining why there has never been a recorded death. This differs from cigarettes and alcohol which kills millions each year.

Although the exact results are unknown Britain’s black market in cannabis is worth an alleged £2.6bn annually. If legalized the money would be put back into the economy, after VAT and other taxes the tax revenue per annum could reach £690m. Also the legalization would mostly probably completely wipe out the black market for cannabis. The medical uses for marijuana are endless and continue to expand and the business opportunities surrounding this could generate large amounts revenue which would then be dispersed through corporation tax.