Recent reports show that Colorado has passed the $1 billion mark in total state revenue generated from the legal marijuana industry. Since the drug became legal in 2014, the state has made a total of $6 billion in sales. This past April and May showed record sales in the five-year history of the industry, as the state took in around $24.2 million. Their sales doubled from $500 million to $1 billion in just under two years, and reaching $500 million took around three and a half years. In the past year, their entire monthly tax and fee marijuana revenue has not dropped below $20 million.
Clearly, the legal marijuana industry is thriving in the state of Colorado. Governor Jared Polis even joked he tells other governors not to to legalize it, as being in the minority here obviously gives them an advantage. But more and more states are starting to see the potential benefits and are moving towards following in Colorado’s footsteps.
Recently, Illinois became the 11th state to approve recreational cannabis for adult use. Before that, Washington, Alaska ,Colorado, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon Vermont, Michigan, Nevada, and Washington D.C. have all had legal marijuana sales.
Colorado currently has 2,917 licensed marijuana businesses and 41,076 people who are licensed to work in the industry. State officials believe many factors have been integral to the success of the business. These include creating retail edible serving sizes to create reasonable adult use, attention to production management that controls marijuana supply and demand, and keeping up with data and analysis from seed-to-sale marijuana inventory.
Colorado is a great example to other states who are considering or have recently made the decision to legalize marijuana, including Puerto Rico. In recent years, Puerto Rico has had financial troubles that could culminate in the largest municipal bankruptcy in United States history. Currently, Puerto Rico is $70 billion in debt, and they are struggling to pay it. The medicinal marijuana industry offers one potential solution to this growing economic problem.
Puerto Rico currently has 77,000 registered patients and it is only expected to grow to 100,000 by the end of the year. The government has granted approximately 80 licenses for dispensaries throughout the island while roughly 40 of them are already opened for business. The projections that have been studied and calculated after the legalization of medicinal cannabis in Puerto Rico following the Act 42-2017 or more commonly known as the “Medicinal Act” reflect that by 2020, all cannabis related activities will have reached $100 million in tax revenue. It is also determined that by the steady growth of the industry, by 2020, all related cannabis programs will have created and employed over 20,000 people.
Once these steps have been completed, patients are then entered into a database with the department of Health and are allowed to buy medicinal cannabis from their nearest storefront dispensary. Regulation 8766 dictates consumption location, which is limited to private homes or private places in which owners authorize the consumption of medical cannabis. Smokeable marijuana is illegal, however the following forms of consumption are allowed:
The Health Department maintains a directory of medical providers who are authorized to recommend cannabis for medicinal purposes. Establishments such as dispensaries, distributors, and manufacturers that are looking for licensing can do so on the Cannabis Medicinal site via the Department of Health. Licensing is necessary to participate in any type of dispensary business as either an employee or owner. Criminal history disclosures and background checks must be made when pursuing certain types of licenses. The Medical Act, Act 42-2017, permits dispensaries to dispense to patients with medical cards from other states.
The Medicinal Act establishes a Regulatory Board consisting of (9) members. Six of those members head the departments of health, agriculture, treasury, economic development/commerce, consumer affairs and the Superintendent of Puerto Rico Police. The remaining (3) are nominated by the Governor. The Regulatory Board will be responsible for withholding and implementing the law concerning everything related to the cannabis industry.
In recent years, Puerto Rico has been in the news for financial troubles that could culminate in the largest municipal bankruptcy in United States history. Currently, the territory is $70 billion in debt and has no way to repay it. One solution to this growing economic problem is medicinal marijuana, even with the government putting up roadblocks at every turn. The Puerto Rican government has made the process of entering the medical marijuana field very difficult and has created trouble operating within the current system. Some of the present issues may be due to a learning curve on the part of the elected officials, but there is also some resistance and lack of resources to blame. In the end, the patients are the ones who end up suffering the most.
Unfortunately, this is not the only problem in the process of receiving a medical marijuana ID card. Once a patient secures a recommendation from a doctor, they must then take that notification to a notary to get it certified. The twist is that the only people who are legally allowed to be notaries in Puerto Rico are lawyers. After first seeing the doctor, and then a lawyer, a patient must then take their certified recommendation to the Department of Cannabis, where it is reviewed. This entire string of events is extremely time consuming. not to mention expensive, as the application fee can range from $100-$150.
Due to the fact that marijuana is still considered a Schedule 1 drug, patients who are accessing cannabis must have their medical marijuana card on them at all times. There are very strict penalties for drug possession, which include a hefty fine and up to ten years in prison. Patients with a current medical marijuana card are free from prosecution and penalties that may come with someone without a card, as long as they follow the guidelines set forth by Regulation No. 8766. Even with the medical marijuana card, patients are advised to practice discretion. Marijuana medication should only be used while in a private home, not in public, and patients should never carry more than the specified amount.
It’s true that marijuana is now legal in Puerto Rico — but only for medicinal purposes. So those wishing to purchase medical marijuana must have a valid medical marijuana card. Right now, smoking marijuana — even for medical reasons — is still illegal. You may use cannabis in the form of extracts, patches, pills, topicals, or vapor.
Note that the use of medical marijuana is only approved in private residences.
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