Coloradoās Cannabis Market Worth $1 Billion
Legal cannabis sales leaped over 42% in Colorado last year, taking the Stateās revenue from marijuana taxes to a new āhighā. According to the Denver Post, Colorado saw $996.2 million in legaals of medical and recreational marijuana. Compaired to roughly $699 million in 2014, this is a very significant jump.
The Post also reported that the state collected more than $135 million in taxes and license fees related to legal cannabis sales last year, which is up nearly 78% from the $76 million in taxes and fees collected the previous year. Of that total, more than $35 million will go toward school construction projects, as per the stateās excise tax on recreational pot sales, while other tax revenue funds could also go toward youth and substance-abuse programs in the state, as they have in the past.
āThe additional tax revenue far exceeds the cost of regulating the system,ā Mason Tvert, a spokesman for industry advocacy group the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement provided to Fortune. āRegulating and taxing marijuana has been incredibly successful in Colorado, and it represents a model for other states to follow.ā