4 Reasons You Want a Dispensary Near You

There are presently 29 states in the U.S.A. that have legalized medical marijuana with 7 of those states having laws that legalize the sale of recreational or adult use marijuana. As a result, a new kind of retail operation has been cropping up in municipalities in legalized states that are providing more than just an attractive product to medical and recreational marijuana consumers.

Dispensaries provide positive benefits to the municipalities they inhabit, whether its citizens are partakers or not. The way legal systems are being developed in municipalities is in the interest of public benefit where communities, not just dispensary owners, stand to profit.

Here’s just a peek of some of the positive benefits cannabis dispensaries bring the municipalities and communities they’re planted in.

Taxation

Wherever a dispensary may be, there is profit to be made. While legal marijuana may be a bit more expensive than “street value”, dispensary products are heavily taxed depending on state regulations.

In many states, like California, two types of taxes are applied to those in the industry: a cultivation tax which growers pay a percentage of their square footage of marijuana, and where dispensaries pay the tax a certain percentage of recorded sales. When you take a closer look at states like California, you can see that the variations in sales and cultivation taxation can be quite vast.

In other areas, taxes make for extremely expensive ganja. Nevada, the latest state to implement marijuana sales is putting 33 cents of sales into the state’s pockets. There, you can spend up to $80 for an eighth and up to $400 for an ounce. No wonder sales are projected to reach $30 million!

In addition, since municipalities in most cases are the ones who can set the rules of taxation, localized “special tax” can be applied where the municipality will directly benefit.

How is Marijuana Tax Spent?

Entrepreneur reported earlier this year that in Colorado, millions of dollars were invested into building schools ($40 million), public health and marijuana education ($18 million), and school and literacy improvement programs ($8.4 million). Additional funds go to pesticide control and inspections on the agricultural front as well as to the offices of the Attorney General and the state Governor for their enforcement and implementation costs. These state benefits, in addition to the special taxes for municipalities, guarantee that communities will directly benefit from marijuana money.

Increased Employment Opportunities

As we’ve reported, the legal cannabis industry holds promising opportunities for its communities in terms of employment.

Marijuana Business Daily reported in their annual fact book, the cannabis industry employs 165,000-230,000 part-time and full-time workers in legalized states across the country. Jobs in the industry range from “plant touching” jobs that are directly involved in cultivation, manufacturing or sales, or ancillary services, who provide niche services to the cannabis industry specifically such as marketing or POS systems.

It’s projected by economists who focus on the legal cannabis market that by 2020, the number of jobs available in the cannabis industry will surpass the jobs available within manufacturing within states who have legalized cannabis. This is not including projections that include states yet to legalize.

With manufacturing being one of the leading sources of employment for individuals in this country, there could very well be a shift in work that may be similar to a mini-Industrial Revolution.

Higher Housing Prices and Property Values

For legal marijuana cities, migration has become a reality as people see the promise of profit and legal access.

Forbes reported eye-opening increases in housing sales for last year in areas where marijuana law is thriving. Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Denver, all areas with advanced legalization saw over 10% growth where the national average was around 5.7%.

At the same time, commercial spaces in legalized areas are going for a premium as landowners and commercial property owners see the dollar signs in leasing or selling their properties to cultivators, edibles manufacturers, and dispensary owners. People are now paying above market rates for buildings that were once hard to push on the market and are dilapidated seeing the potential of dollar signs.

Does Pot Really Benefit Everyone?

The quick answer is yes, whether someone in a legalized state or municipality partakes in marijuana or not, taxes have a trickle-down effect that isn’t always apparent.

If you have the privilege of visiting a cannabis dispensary in your state or municipality, you may be apt to grumble about tax, but keep in mind that your purchase makes things possible for your community that perhaps wouldn’t have been otherwise possible.