(The Center Square) – The marijuana industry is thriving. Last year the $21 billion industry grew by over 5%, faster than the U.S. economy as a whole. At the same time, states from California to Massachusetts have decided the industry needs to be subsidized. A coalition of Democratic senators is now calling for the Small Business Administration to come to the aid of the industry.
This is the same industry that, for decades, the U.S. government spent billions trying to snuff out. Illegal cannabis operations continued to thrive despite their efforts.
State governments have taken issue with the legal industry consisting of well-connected marijuana entrepreneurs that have pushed out minorities who were most-commonly prosecuted for cannabis crimes. New York established a $200 million fund for minority marijuana marketers. Michigan is a relative piker, giving $1 million in grants to help with “social equity funding.”