RS 2

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=d9aa3d9a-7202-4174-ab93-8d2a83e43f70%40sessionmgr4001&vid=35&hid=4212&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=99339026

Jonsson, Patrik. “How legal Marijuana is reshaping state economies”. Academic search complete. EBSCO publishing, 11 November 2014. Web. 19 July 2015.

In my high school economics class I learned that the fundamental principle of the government is to maintain a low unemployment rate.  This concept is highly encouraged in the article written by Patrik Jonsson because he discusses how the legalization of Marijuana can have a significant impact on U.S’s economy. Generally, the success of a country’s economy is a measure of country’s superiority. Many Marijuana supporters believe that Marijuana is able to provide a plethora amount of jobs. As a result, Jonsson reiterates the notion of innovation in the job market and the creation of thousands of jobs.

Additionally, Marijuana is able to provide millions of dollars in revenue because the demand for it is high. Also, Marijuana and tobacco are similar in regards to financial benefits because both products can produce successful business industries.  In the article, “how legal Marijuana is reshaping state economies”, Jonsson states “Colorado now sports 18,000 state –certified, or badged, pot industry workers eligible for jobs”. Only in Colorado Marijuana has constructed thousands of jobs, if Marijuana is legalized throughout the U.S the number of jobs would exponentially increase. In fact Marijuana has a lot of monetary value because when people get jobs they spend money thus shifting the economy in a positive manner. Additionally, Jonsson says the “average weekly wage of a marijuana industry worker is $555”. The annual salary of a Marijuana industry worker would be about $29,000, which is significantly higher than the average salary of $26,000 in the U.S. The legalization of Marijuana would increase the average salary and restructure state’s economies. Another economic truth to take into consideration from legalizing Marijuana is that it will have a domino effect which will affect other companies.  In the article Jonsson quotes a spokesman for the Marijuana policy project in Washington D.C. The spokesman states how “packaging and labeling companies “ will be affected financially from the legalization of Marijuana because these companies will be a vital component in the distribution of the product.

Furthermore, there are also false economic assumptions made by people about legalizing Marijuana. If Marijuana becomes a dependent source for economic gain the U.S will be in major turmoil.  Jonsson discusses the stock aspect of Marijuana and emphasizes that “despite the hype with populace, Marijuana stocks remain risky and mostly something to avoid now”.  If the stock value for Marijuana is delicate, the value for Marijuana in the future can have a significant drop.  Also in the business world people will do anything to seek profit and Jonsson examines this issue. He argues, “corporatized Marijuana industry will, like tobacco and alcohol giants, target younger American’s for profits”. This employs the desperate methods that large companies are willing to do for profits. Towards the end of the article Jonsson quotes a Harvard economist about the GDP of Colorado in which he says, “neither Colorado’s GDP nor wages have so far risen notably because of legalization”. Many Marijuana activists tend to overrate the economic upside of the legalization of Marijuana.

Ultimately, Jonsson supports legalization of Marijuana because he repeatedly highlights the positive impact Marijuana can have on the economy.  Although he discusses the positives and negatives of Marijuana, he displays greater support towards how the people will benefit economically from Marijuana.