Is Trump Serious About Job Creation? Then, Leave Marijuana Alone [Report]

Is President Donald Trump serious about job creation?

One of the many promises Donald Trump made during his campaign was job creation. During his inauguration speech, he even promised to create 25 million new jobs for American citizens over the next decade. The Motley Fool notes one of the easiest ways for Donald Trump to move forward with his job creation promise is to leave marijuana alone – letting states where it is already legal continue to move forward instead of being forced to move backwards.

According to The Motley Fool, a report was recently published via New Frontier Data which focuses on analyzing all data regarding the cannabis industry. The report projected that legalizing marijuana would create nearly 300,000 jobs in just the next three years. The Motley Fool – and everyone else – have one simple question: is this a realistic projection of the job creation the marijuana industry could offer?

A closer look at Colorado

Because the state of Colorado was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, it makes it the best state to take a closer look at to see what kind of job creation the marijuana industry could possibly offer. The state of Colorado modified their laws in 2013 to legalize marijuana in 2014. By the end of 2015, there were over 2,500 different businesses within the state that had taken the necessary steps to legally sell some form of marijuana.

These 2,500 different businesses were able to create roughly 20,000 additional jobs in the state of Colorado. These are just the numbers for one state.

Seven other states – as well as the District of Columbia – have also legalized recreational marijuana. The population of each of these states is roughly 11 times the size of Colorado. Just the state of California has a population seven times the size of Colorado. So, in theory, those seven states – and the District of Columbia – should be able to create 220,000 new jobs.

Now, that’s 80,000 less than the 300,000 jobs the New Frontier Data originally projected the marijuana industry could create. So, is the projection wrong or is there 80,000 jobs coming from somewhere? Well, you have to also factor in the jobs legalized medical marijuana brings into the state. Currently, there are 20 states that have legalized marijuana and the 220,000 jobs mentioned earlier doesn’t factor in 16 of those 20 states. The Motley Fool speculates it isn’t really too much of a stretch to think the medical marijuana industry in those 16 other states could bring in 80,000 new jobs. If anything, that number seems a little low given how many jobs the states where recreational marijuana is legal are estimated to bring in.

Other Marijuana Stories On Inquisitr

Marijuana Industry Outraged By White House
Controversial Marijuana Facts: Is The U.S. Wasting Taxpayer’s Money? [Opinion]
Arizona Marijuana Legalization: This Man Was Shocked To Be Arrested, Didn’t Realize Marijuana Was Still Illegal

While 300,000 jobs is certainly not the 25 million jobs that Donald Trump promised to create when he became president of the United States, it would certainly make his job a little easier as it would put a nice dent in his job creation plans. And, that’s just a small fraction of the United States. Imagine how many jobs would be created if the entire United States were to legalize recreational marijuana. Chances are pretty good that would easily create somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 to 2 million jobs. Then, Trump would just need to work out a job creation plan for 23-24 million jobs instead of the 25 million he promised.

Based on these numbers, it would appear as if Donald Trump taking steps back on legalizing recreational marijuana is only going to put him farther away from his goal to create 25 million jobs for Americans within the next decade.

What are your thoughts on marijuana, Donald Trump, and job creation? Share them in the comments section below.

[Featured Image by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images]