Cannabis and commercial real estate - by Rick Kaplan

Rick Kaplan, NEREJ

Hey man, what’s happening! I think legalizing marijuana is cool man! It will make it so much easier to party man! Now Marijuana is all business.

There was a time that if you had illegal marijuana dealers in your neighborhood that would destroy property values. Those days are gone for the states that have legalized marijuana and have implemented all of the correct rules and regulations. Walking into a registered dispensary that must follow every rule and regulation is like walking into a high end (no pun meant) retail establishment.

The cannabis industry has changed the look of many areas in the country that had been struggling and now are thriving due to the the legalization of marijuana. In Colorado, they have seen increase in construction, fewer vacant  retail and industrial space. In Denver, they have seen a rundown neighborhood, South Broadway, turned into a much nicer thriving shopping area. According to Marijuana Business Factbook Cannabis storefronts average $974 in revenue annually per s/f of space. This has also brought other businesses to the area and has increased the property values.

I think the stigma of marijuana is changing. It is looked at more as a miracle drug in some respects. Although everything I read about does talk about many of the pro’s of the cannabis industry, there are many mixed reports. Initially most reports have talked about crime rates dropping but as more time goes by in existing legalized states that doesn’t seem to be the case. Most legalized states have no increase or very low increase in crime and definitely have very few marijuana related crimes which free up police and the court systems to focus on more serious crimes. The major benefit to legalization is the increase in tax revenue for schools, city and town revitalization.

We have consumer products on the market today that are much worse for us like cigarettes, alcohol with zero health benefits and fewer regulations.   My thought is marijuana isn’t going away legal or not,  why shouldn’t we take advantage of the benefits like the increased tax revenue, improved communities, much better use of our vacant retail stores and industrial space and put thousands of Americans to work. 

Rick Kaplan is media director at the New England Real Estate Journal, Norwell, Mass.