Monday letters: Money woes? Legalize hemp and cannabis

So Columbia needs $100 million for the Columbia canal, broken in the October storm. More than likely we will go to Washington seeking relief instead of divorcing ourselves from archaic laws that stifle revenue within our own state.

Laws against hemp and cannabis need to be stricken from statutes quickly. To date, four states (Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska) have removed those laws, and their citizens are reaping tremendous benefit, including a decrease in both crime and arrest rates. Another major benefit those states have seen is a massive bump in tax and fee revenues from cannabis businesses.

Colorado, a state similar in population to South Carolina, took in more than $70 million in taxes and licensing last year and is poised to see more than $100 million this year. Throw into the mix hemp, cannabis’ non-psychoactive cousin, and South Carolina could become a powerhouse of production, bringing with it thousands of jobs.

So we can either go ask our Uncle (Sam) if we can borrow a couple hundred million dollars, or scrap old laws, build a thriving economy, and fix our own infrastructure.

This story was originally published November 29, 2015 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Monday letters: Money woes? Legalize hemp and cannabis."