Legalising cannabis could generate £1.5 billion for UK economy, new study finds

Legalising cannabis could generate £1.5 billion for UK economy, new study finds



Posted by juicy_steve

35 comments

  2. “Analysis released by Transform Drug Policy Foundation has shown that that legalising and regulating cannabis for adult non-medical use in the UK could generate up to **£1.5 billion in annual net benefits to the Treasury.**

    The report, titled High Returns: The Economic Benefits of UK Cannabis Legalisation, outlines how tax revenue and criminal justice system savings could provide significant economic advantages while creating up to 15,500 full-time jobs across cultivation, manufacturing, retail and ancillary services.”

    (So for some context, that will be the same as the recent cut in the winter fuel allowance or that will pay for around 25% of the current mess of the migrant hotels all over the country.)

  3. The Uk government are the U.K’s biggest manufacturer of cannabis.

  5. Great, at the same time, cannabis is not good for people. I approve legalisation but it should be considered like alcohol at best.

  6. Doesn’t matter. It could clear our national debt and still wouldn’t be legalised.
    Too many politicians, groups and lobbyists have built their careers on the back of criminalising it. If it is shown that they were all wrong, the public would have more queries about what else they are wrong about. Politicians just won’t have it.

  8. If only. It would mean common sense prevailing but that’s never going to happen

  13. This would upset swing voters in marginal seats, so neither party will support it unless one of their donors suggests it’s a good idea.

  14. The problem is that the illegal farms won’t go out of business as they use slave labour and abstracted electricity so will always be the cheapest option to buy even if it gets legalised.
    If it is legalised it will have to go through all the safety testing for a new product and are they really going to allow a product that gets smoked (with the health implications that can go with that).

  17. That would give them money to buy bombs for Ukraine so it should happen, no?

  18. Perhaps not a popular opinion but I hate cannabis, mainly because anyone who smokes it seems to lose all ability to be able to smell it and it absolutely stinks. Not to mention the mental health issues it causes and just the general apathy it induces in some young people who are meant to be in the prime of their lives.

    If its legalisation was going to turn the economy around then perhaps I could overlook my objections but 1.5 billion is peanuts in this context.

  19. I highly doubt they costed the loss in productivity, additional road accidents and cost to the NHS due to the uptick in lung cancers.

  20. Realistically, legalisation is the best way.

    The war on drugs has proven that drugs will win. They will always win. I mean, the drug cartels build submarines to get drugs to the USA. They used drones to get drugs into prisons.

    So we can spend billions to fail to stop the drugs trade or we can capitalise on it. It’s not even a matter of opinion really, there is a correct choice.

  21. At what cost to mental health services? I teach in a secondary school with kids with mental health issues who openly boast about getting stoned.

  22. The revenue thing has been known for decades. I think the issue with safety/legalisation is also a confusing one: A lot depends on **who** consumes it, what **it** is, and **how** it’s consumed. I’ve seen what it does to young people (previously bright ~10yr olds), and it’s not good. That’s not to say it has no use in society, but a generic “it’s safe, legalise it now hur dur” would be pretty dangerous in my opinion.

  25. It’d cost way more than that in mental health case upticks.

  26. The government needs to find new ways to generate income, the amount they collect on tobacco and fuel will keep falling as more people quit smoking and switch to electric cars. The kids growing up now don’t partake in the binge drinking culture so booze tax revenue will dry up.

    It could generate billions in revenue, create jobs and take money away from criminals. It could also hit the NHS with another crisis to throw on the pile.

  27. It will never happen here in the UK. Only the rich elite are allowed to indulge in drugs. We workers are only allowed our rations of alcohol.

    Seriously, if cannabis was legalised here, we’d all figure out what a scam the economy is and go live off-grid.

  28. Oh really? And the fact that it’s terrible for mental health is all made up is it?

    [Cannabis use is associated with higher cases of suicidal ideation](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781215)

    [A professional training body that represents 1000 psychiatrists says that cannabis represents the “gravest threat to the mental health of young people in Ireland” today](https://irishpsychiatry.ie/blog/college-of-psychiatrists-warns-that-cannabis-is-gravest-threat-to-young-irish-peoples-mental-health-today/)

    [One in four admissions to Guernsey’s adult mental health ward in 2023 were likely to be linked to cannabis use](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6p24yl9wdyo#:~:text=One in four admissions to,a States report has found)

    We’re often told to ‘follow the science’ and ‘trust the experts’. Well how about following this science and listening to these experts?

  29. Bringing in laws and significant on-the-spot fines for the smell the same way people get fined for littering would be the only way I would support legalisation.

  30. Personally, if a weed strain was available that suited me, I’d prefer it to alcohol. I like the idea of ‘weed bars’ to be able to pick and choose.

  31. That’s barely any money. Just a handful of migrant hotels. Doesn’t really make the case very strong.

  32. Not just generate billions in revenue, but it is said to also save us billions in NHS costs.
    Even the gov understand it would save £200m in police and court costs.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34512015

    At a time where we need to generate revenue, a time where cannabis is legal elsewhere, why on earth would we not want to take this money out of the hands of criminal gangs?.

    The downside is the smell?.

    Is that actually comparable at all to billions made, saved?.
    That’s before we even talk about the public health issues surrounding tainted weed.
    Or even the pressure and time wasted by the NHS, or police and courts.

    It could be incredibly simple.
    Public smoking is illegal – Generate further revenue from ‘on the spot’ fines.
    Membership only cannabis clubs – Taxed.
    An extra tax on cannabis flower, so people choose edibles and low smell vapes.

    Add on top of all that the tourism and other business opportunities.

    When the counter to all that is ‘*the smell*’ it may be time to look a little further than your nose.

  33. Everyone smokes it, literally smell it everywhere now. Why not capitalise on it.

  34. I’d argue the figure would be much more if the amount of people that currently smoke actually admitted to it… I also imagine a lot more people would give it a go if it was legal.

    I personally don’t smoke anymore, but that’s mainly because I can’t be arsed waiting around for dealers. If a dispensary opened up on my street I’d probably be popping in quite regularly.

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