MJ tax revenue in US, Cannabis may prevent covid infections

 Back in the day, like a few decades ago now, books were written claiming that if legalized, marijuana could be worth 1 billion dollars in tax revenue. Times have changed and the reality is it's worth much more to the States who have passed legislation to legalize. I'm glad I had a hand in making this happen in Massachusetts.

Washington, DC: State-authorized sales of retail marijuana products have yielded more than $10 billion in new tax revenue, according to an analysis compiled by the Marijuana Policy Project. 

“Legalizing cannabis for adults has been a wise investment,” authors of the report concluded. “Since 2014 when sales began in Colorado and Washington, legalization policies have provided states a new revenue stream to bolster budgets and fund important services and programs. As of December 2021, states reported a combined total of $10.4 billion in tax revenue from legal, adult-use cannabis sales. In addition to revenue generated for statewide budgets, cities and towns have also generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in new revenue from local adult-use cannabis taxes.”

These revenues have been used to fund various state-specific projects, MPP’s analysis reported. In Colorado, for instance, over $470 million in cannabis-specific tax revenue has been applied toward public schools. In Washington, some $600 million in revenue has been directed toward public health initiatives, including a fund that provides health insurance to low-income families. In California, over $100 million in revenue has been provided to community investment programs and local nonprofit groups. 

In every state permitting adult-use sales, marijuana tax revenues have grown year-over-year.

  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-12/cannabis-compounds-prevented-covid-infection-in-laboratory-study?sref=cv51C53O

Kanoko Matsuyama

January 12, 2022, 12:48 AM EST

Cannabis compounds prevented the virus that causes Covid-19 from penetrating healthy human cells, according to a laboratory study published in the Journal of Nature Products. 

The two compounds commonly found in hemp -- called cannabigerolic acid, or CBGA, and cannabidiolic acid, or CBDA -- were identified during a chemical screening effort as having potential to combat coronavirus, researchers from Oregon State University said. In the study, they bound to spike proteins found on the virus and blocked a step the pathogen uses to infect people.

The researchers tested the compounds’ effect against alpha and beta variants of the virus in a laboratory. The study didn’t involve giving the supplements to people or comparing infection rates in those who use the compounds to those who don’t. 

Hemp is a source of fiber, food and animal feed, and extracts are commonly added to cosmetics, body lotions, dietary supplements and food. 

“These compounds can be taken orally and have a long history of safe use in humans,” said Richard van Breemen, a researcher with Oregon State’s Global Hemp Innovation Center. “They have the potential to prevent as well as treat infection by SARS-CoV-2,” he said in a statement.