Business View Magazine - Sept 2023

87 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 9 MARI JUANA POL ICY PROJECT The Legislative Landscape and Economic Impacts of Cannabis Legalization On the MPP’s legislative endeavors, O’Keefe underscores the MPPs focus on states like Delaware, Maryland, Hawaii, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. “While we provide support for various bills in multiple states, our primary focus remains on these key regions,” she notes. Discussing the organization’s structure, she shares, “I lead our state legislative department, and we have four other staffers assigned to specific states. Typically, they’re registered as contract lobbyists, engaging in in-person lobbying. We often employ contract lobbyists during legislative sessions to bolster our reach and relationships with legislators.” She also mentions the pivotal role of their CEO and President, Toi Hutchinson, in federal government affairs, given her rich experience as a former state legislator. Turning to the economic implications of cannabis legalization, O’Keefe presents a compelling picture. “The cannabis industry has generated approximately 400,000 legal jobs, as reported by Leafly. Since the inception of legal sales in Colorado and Washington in 2014, states have amassed a total of $15 billion in tax revenue, with a staggering $3.7 billion in 2022 alone,” she states. Beyond the direct economic benefits, O’Keefe touches upon the societal implications. “The legalization of cannabis has prevented countless individuals from facing the stigma of a criminal record, which can severely hamper future employment prospects. The economic repercussions of such stigmatization, coupled with potential job losses due to pretrial detentions, are profound,” she emphasizes. Addressing concerns about workplace impairment post-legalization, O’Keefe cites a decade’s worth of data from Colorado. “The state has consistently reported a decline in lost costs, which represent the total cost of work-related injuries for worker’s comp claims. This suggests that legalization hasn’t led to increased workplace accidents or impairments,” she explains.