Pubdate: Thu, 03 Nov 2016
Source: Orillia Today (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Metroland Printing, Publishing and Distributing
Contact:  http://www.simcoe.com/orillia-on
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1508

BUSINESS OF POT COULD JOLT ECONOMY

It's possible, even likely, that at some point next year, Ontarians
will be able to search store shelves for 'purple haze', 'blue dream'
and 'kosher kush' marijuana alongside their VQA merlots, sauvignon
blancs and moscatos.

Work is well underway to lay the foundation for marijuana legalization
in this country, with legislation expected in the spring.

Pot advocates have long argued legalization could give our economy a
lift. A new report suggests that lift could surpass anyone's wildest
prophecy.

A study produced by the Deloitte firm - titled Recreational Marijuana: 
Insights and Opportunities - suggests a legal marijuana industry in 
Canada could be worth an incredible $22.6 billion - more than the sales 
of wine, spirits and beer combined.

Deloitte's research values the recreational retail market for weed at
between $5 billion and $8.7 billion annually.

Tack on between $12.7 billion and $22.6 billion for the ancillary
market (growers, specialty product makers, testing labs and security)
and you have what Deloitte calls "a bold new landscape" for businesses
and governments.

But that's not all.

Pot tourism, business taxes, licensing fees and paraphernalia could
drive these astronomical projections even higher - high enough to
stagger even the most jaded corporate CEO, or perhaps sway those still
on the fence over whether or not legal pot is a good idea.

"There hasn't been anything like this - and granted it wasn't
legislated - but you think of the dot-com … flurry," Mark Whitmore,
vice-chair of Deloitte, told the Toronto Star.

It's no wonder that some ambitious medical pot entrepreneurs have
tried to stake their claims by opening dispensaries long before a bill
has been presented to MPs.

Legal pot represents an extraordinary opportunity to jump-start our
economy, which has been idling for far too long.

Who would have thought that the jolt we needed would emanate from a
leafy green herb bearing an unmistakable sweet scent and a sketchy
past?
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MAP posted-by: Matt