Should marijuana be legalized for personal consumption and recreational use? If it was just how much tax money would it raise? For some Louisiana lawmakers this is a moral issue and health issue.

For others it's more of a revenue generation issue. It's the issue that seems to be a part of every legislative gathering in Baton  Rouge. In case you were wondering I was talking about the legalization of pot not the using of pot.

Lawmakers are currently meeting behind closed doors to discuss this particular issue. More specifically a constitutional amendment that would make marijuana legal in the state and just how the state would tax it.

Jesse McCormick who is head of the Louisiana Cannabis Association explained how the issue of legalizing marijuana could be considered during this special session of the legislature.

The legislature wouldn't be voting on any infrastructure pieces, they just have to give it an up and down for the people vote on whether or not they want lawmakers to go tax and regulate.

McCormick, whose remarks were reported by the Louisiana Radio Network, suggested that in these times of tight budgets where schools and hospitals could be closing an influx of tax money from legal marijuana could certainly put big dent in the budget shortfall.

We might want to look at a product that's out there and an industry that a lot of other states are already benefiting from.

Currently four states have legalized marijuana for recreational use while 23 states have legalized it for medical use.  As far as revenue generation goes the state of Colorado saw a $70 million tax boon as a result of their decision to legalize pot for recreational use.

 

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