The legalisation of marijuana isn't just about liberal values - it's about dollars

The tax revenues from marijuana in states where it has been legalised are relatively sizeable - is this one of the reasons why many places are consenting to pro-marijuana legislation?

On Tuesday, Oregon, Alaska and Washington D.C. voted in favour of pro-marijuana legislation. A vote in Florida won 58% support, falling just short of the required 60% threshold. Nearly 18 million Americans now live in states where marijuana is fully legal.

So, why is it that legislatures and voters in red states favourably lean towards what, on paper at least, would seem to be a liberal issue? One reason (at least when it comes to governments) might be to do with money.

One of the states they now join is Colorado, where marijuana was legalised (with some restrictions) last year. On average, the state now gets more tax revenues from the plant than from alcohol.

The bottom line is there is a potentially sizeable crop of dollars waiting to be had from the legalisation of drugs. There’s a lot more green in the pot than meets the eye, if you will.

The graphic below looks at how this money stacks up around the world compared to other crops.