Legalizing Marijuana in the UK Would Create $1.4 Billion in Tax Revenue

Pot shops may soon hit the streets of the UK, if a panel of experts gets its way.

A new report conducted by scientists, academics, and police chiefs concluded that legalizing the sale of marijuana in "specialty shops" in the UK would create £1bn (about $1.4 billion US) a year in tax revenue, The Independent's Oliver Wright reported on Tuesday.

The report is the centerpiece of a new drug policy written by the Liberal Democrat Party. It will be presented at the party's spring conference later this week, according to Wright.

medicinal marijuana dispensary — A medical marijuana patient sniffs product at a dispensary in San Francisco, California. Jeff Chiu/AP

Under the policy, people over the age of 18 could buy marijuana from "single-purpose stores modelled [sic] on pharmacies," like dispensaries in the US, or grow their greenery at home for personal use. A new bureau of government would regulate the price, potency, and packaging of all marijuana sold.

Budtender Trevor Hollis holds a pair of marijuana buds for a customer at the Denver Kush Club early Friday, Nov. 27, 2015, in north Denver. More than two dozen customers took advantage of a new Colorado holiday tradition of marijuana shops drawing customers with discounted weed and holiday gift sets. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) David Zalubowski/AP

The experts behind the report called upon the government to join the ranks of the growing number of US states where medicinal and recreational users alike are free to light up. Doing so would generate not only massive tax revenue, but also decrease drug-related crime and temper the drug's harmful effects on users, they write.

A Liberal Democrat Party leader told The Independent that going after cannabis users was a "waste of police time," and condemned criminal convictions for damaging people's careers.

Colorado, one of the first two US states to legalize recreational marijuana, raked in about $996 million in legal sales of medicinal and recreational cannabis in 2015, according to a Denver Post investigation. Sales grew more than 42% last year, and while crime is up since 2012 — when pot was legalized — marijuana-related offenses accounted for as little as 0.5%.

marijuana pot weed — A member of staff recommends different classes of marijuana to a memeber of the club in a cannabis club on August 22, 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. Under Spanish law marijuana can be consumed and grown for personal use. According to self-regulated Cannabis Associations of Catalonia (FEDCAC) and Cannabis Associations Federation of Catalonia (CATFAC) there are currently more than 650 cannabis clubs in Spain, 55 of which are regulated under the Code of Good Practice by these associations. The clubs are for members only, who have to be Spanish residents over 21 years of age, and who are introduced to the club by an existing member. More than half of the cannabis clubs can be found in Barcelona, where authorities are have imposed a one-year moratorium on new licenses for cannabis associations and it is searching for new ways to regulate these clubs as they are becoming increasingly popular. David Ramos/Getty Images

It seems the experts behind the UK report are adopting Colorado's "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" attitude.

"We are fully aware of the health harms associated with cannabis use," the report states, "but contend that a rational policy must pragmatically manage the reality of use as it currently exists, rather than attempt to eradicate it using punitive enforcement."

There's a $1.4 billion incentive for the UK government to legalize marijuana

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