In the first eight months of 2017 marijuana sales have topped $1 billion in Colorado.
The marijuana industry is booming in Colorado. Sales have increased steadily every year since legalization and 2016’s impressive sales pace has already been surpassed.
Marijuana sales have already topped $1 billion for the first eight months of 2017 in Colorado. According to The Cannabist, year-to-date sales are up 21 percent from this time last year.
The numbers help to justify one of the main arguments advocates have used to push for legalization-tax revenues. Lawmakers previously reluctant to legalize marijuana have often changed their minds based on the projected tax revenues the industry can generate. Colorado is showing just how much money can be collected in marijuana taxes. So far, $162 million has been collected this year in marijuana taxes. These revenues have been used to fund a variety of social programs including improvements to public schools and outreach to the homeless.
Below are the numbers for each year since legal recreational marijuana sales started:
2014: $699,198,805
2015: $996,184,788
2016: $1,313,156,545
Other states are likely to take note of what is going on in Colorado especially as they struggle to keep state programs funded without raising taxes. Many predict states such as New Jersey, Vermont, and Rhode Island could elect to legalize recreational marijuana in 2018.
