This report evaluates the economic impacts of legalising and regulating cannabis for adult non-medical use in the UK from a Treasury perspective of income and spending. The report focuses on government revenues (corporation and income tax, VAT, National Insurance, licensing fees, and, in the scenario of a state monopoly model, profits), savings across the criminal justice system (CJS) from reduced costs on enforcement, and the costs of administering a regulatory model.
For Transform, economic arguments for cannabis, though significant, are secondary to public health and social justice policy priorities. But the economic dimensions of the cannabis reform debate are undoubtedly gaining
political salience, particularly as governments face growing budgetary pressures. Public support for cannabis reform, particularly for economic reasons, such as disrupting illegal profits and the potential tax income, is growing in both the U.S. and the UK.
This report analyses three different regulatory scenarios:
1. Home-grow provision for personal use, and non-profit membership-based associations, with no commercial retail
2. Hybrid model including home grow, non-profit associations and regulated commercial retail
3. A Hybrid model Home grow, non-profit associations, and commercial retail operating under a state monopoly (profits on retail sale accrue to the state)
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