Legalising cannabis could generate up to 144 million euros for the Belgian State, reports Le Soir on Monday, citing a study by the Groupe du Vendredi, a think tank supported by the King Baudouin Foundation. Groupe du Vendredi has estimated public spending - money spent by the state - on activities related to cannabis to be 223.9 million per year. The think tank carried out an analysis of the current situation in Belgium, called Cannaconomics, which measured the impact of decriminalisation on public finances, according to three scenarios.
The first was legalisation with inventory regulation, where the state controls production, distributes licenses for sale and sets the price, would generate a margin of 144 million euros.
In another scenario, a "simple" decriminalisation - lifting the ban on cannabis consumption, but not on sales and production - would result in a reduction in public spending by 42.8 million for the State.
Finally, a competitive market where private companies are free to set the quantity produced would generate a margin of 78.4 million for the State.
The Brussels Times
