Legal cannabis market 'would be worth £1.25bn a year to government'

Report sets out potential cost savings and tax take from a regulated cannabis market in England and Wales
The Observer (UK)
Sunday, September 15, 2013

Legalising and taxing cannabis could be worth as much as £1.25bn a year to the government, a study suggests. The report Licensing and regulation of the cannabis market in England and Wales: towards a cost-benefit analysis, quantifies the revenue to be gained from the regulation and taxation of the cannabis market in England and Wales. It estimates that reduced enforcement costs, such as police, court and prison time and community sentences, could save £300m or more alone, with the remaining three-quarters of the net benefit come from tax revenue.