Marijuana legalization will result in a net gain of productivity.

In the first month of recreational marijuana legalization in Illinois, nearly $40 million in sales rolled in. I’d heard reports of people across the river camped out like it was Black Friday, waiting hours, and not being able to get in before they closed because the lines were so long. It looks like the hysteria is already calming down.

Increased personal productivity won’t be the big boon from legal weed. Even though it caused me to be manic, the quality of whatever I accomplished was at best questionable and often nil, or worse. In my experience, there is no doubt I’m more meaningfully productive as a sober individual, and would challenge even the most with-it partaker to see how they do without.

What society will collectively gain back is all the hours stoners have to sit on their pot dealers’ couches, waiting. You know what I’m talking about. I’m not referring to waiting in line for other people to shop the best buds, but having to watch YouTube videos or listen to crazy stories until Uncle Skippy pulls the bud bucket out. Playing N64 and laughing at bad jokes until you can get your bag. Every smoker has been there. These days are gone.

Countless hours will be pumped back into the economy. What will be done with them is another story, only time will tell.