As More East Coast States Legalize Recreational Marijuana, Researchers Predict a New Tourism Trend: ‘Canna Tourism
New York and New Jersey have long been tourist magnets: Consider the Big Apple’s hot spots: Rockefeller Center at Christmas, Broadway’s Great White Way, the Statue of Liberty, and, upstate, ski and summer resorts and the wineries of the Finger Lakes.
New Jersey? The Garden State offers the Jersey Shore and Atlantic City’s casinos, just for starters.
Now, suggests the cannabis research outfit New Frontier Data: Add a new tourism trend: canna-tourism.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on March 31 signed a Senate bill legalizing adult-use cannabis for the Empire State after both chambers of the state legislature approved it. Last November 20, New Jersey also legalized marijuana in the form of an election ballot initiative.
New York’s market won’t take effect for a year or two, but big things are expected to come of it. Wrote New Frontier data in a recent analysis, “As other states in the region debate whether to follow suit, New York and New Jersey are set to become east coast canna-tourism destinations.”
Added Frontier Data, “Both should flourish, with New York holding a slight edge because of its larger size and popularity as an existing tourist hot spot.” Several bullet points went on to estimate, based on regular surveys, that:
- In the first year of both legal markets, New Jersey will support 19.6 million participating adult canna-tourists, while New York will support 21 million.
- By year four, both states will see increases, with New Jersey at 22.3 million and New York at 22.9 million.
The new law in New York grants automatic expungement of previous cannabis offenses, which for decades have disproportionately impacted black and latino youth.
CNBC further estimated the financial benefits for New York State, writing that, “Legalization is expected to eventually rake in billions of dollars in revenue for the state and for New York City in particular, with a hefty 13% tax, which includes a 9% state tax and a 4% local tax.”
