For better or worse, November 2020 is going to be a month to remember.
The most contentious election in living memory is a mere two weeks out. A lot of words are being written about what the future of the country will look like.
Writers and pundits on both sides of the aisle have their reasons for saying one thing or another, but the truth of the matter is they don’t know any more than you or I. We’ll just have to wait and see what the near future holds. We’ll have to find ways to deal with the anxiety that comes with that uncertainty.
Still, not everything is entirely murky.
The media tends to focus on the question of who is going to be the president come January, but the upcoming election is going to decide a number of other issues.
One of those issues is practically guaranteed to become the law of the land at this point.
Five States, One Question
Should marijuana be legal?
That’s a question five states will be deciding in two weeks. Voters in New Jersey, South Dakota, Montana, Arizona, and Mississippi all face ballot questions related to marijuana as they head to the polls.
In New Jersey, Montana, South Dakota, and Arizona, it’s a question of whether or not recreational use will be made legal. Mississippians will be voting on whether or not medical marijuana will be legal in their state. If the measures pass in each state, that will bring the total number of states with some sort of legality to 38. Fourteen of those will have recreational use on their books.
Whether or not the laws will pass is another story of course. It seems all but likely to happen in New Jersey, while Mississippi is seen as the long shot of the bunch. Still, the fact that the question made it onto the ballot at all speaks to a trend that we’ve long been watching here at Outsider Club.
States are waking up to the fact that marijuana legalization can be a moneymaker. They saw the money states like Colorado, Oregon, and Washington were bringing in once they legalized and wondered what kind of revenue they could bring in. Politicians saw their citizens wanted it and campaigned to get it done.
More states are now looking at it as a way to both bring in money and be a part of the inevitable wave of change.
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has destroyed state economies. Businesses were forced to close, people have been put out of work, and those with jobs are being much more careful about what they spend their money on.
Through legalizing marijuana, these states see a path to digging themselves out of these economic holes and getting back on track. New businesses will pop up and people will be able to get back to work.
And as one state goes in that direction so, too, will others around it.
That’s the prediction anyway.
In New Jersey’s case, advocates believe that legalization will put things in motion so that the entire Eastern Seaboard takes steps to get there. It will be an arms race to keep citizens from traveling and to keep that much-needed revenue within the state.
On a broader scale, more legalization could put pressure on Congress to make marijuana legal on a federal level. While blue states have led the way, the trend is starting to spread to red states as well. This shows that the trend isn’t a partisan one and is instead something most people in the country want.
And because the industry is projected to bring in $15.8 billion this year, it’s something congressional leaders should want, too.
Opportunity for the Individual
At this point, there’s no stopping this trend. Lawmakers are noticing it, but large companies picked up on it a while ago. Beverage companies, food companies, and consumer product companies started quietly backing marijuana companies where they could because they saw what was coming.
Fortunately, that doesn’t mean the average investor is shut out… yet.
It’s going to play a big role in helping to rebuild the nation’s economy once the pandemic is over.
