As Daniel Fung of Watertown, CT and many other professionals in the MMJ industry would have predicted, there is new research out there that shows that marijuana legalization has produced positive economic benefits to communities that have embraced it. According to a new study released on March 12 from researchers at Colorado State University-Pueblo, the marijuana industry has had a net positive economic benefit to Pueblo County. These positive economic benefits account for any increase in law enforcement and social services demands.

The report estimates that the marijuana industry added $58 million to the county’s economy and added $23 million in costs, resulting in a positive net impact of $35 million in 2016. This is not the only good news. The report estimates that the positive net impact will rise to close to $100 million a year by 2021. In addition to that, researchers found that legalization had very little effect on social changes in the county, meaning it did not cause widespread crime, homelessness, or other issues those against legalization have posited. County officials were happy by the news and noted that the news is likely even better as they feel that the study was conservative and understated the revenue and overstated the costs.

This is big news for Daniel Fung of Watertown, CT and other advocates and professionals in the industry because it debunks many arguments those against legalization have said. In New Jersey, for example, there is a big fight among those on both sides, and one of the arguments those for prohibition keep pointing out is that legalization will mean that the state and local municipalities will need to invest much more in law enforcement and social services to combat the increased crime and other issues they argue will occur with legalization.

This study shows this simply isn’t the case, and one county is seeing positive changes from legalization. Daniel Fung of Watertown, CT argues that this is just one of many myths that have been debunked over the years about marijuana. As more studies come out, we should see more evidence that marijuana is not the big boogey man some have portrayed it to be and can provide many benefits to individuals and communities at large.