Marijuana sales from Colorado's legal pot stores managed to reach $270 million in 2016 alone. The state's revenue is reportedly almost a $100 million per month industry. Legalization of marijuana and other related products could generate billions in sales should it be pushed nationwide.
According to Inc., the state of Colorado earned more than $270 million in revenue from marijuana dispensaries in 2016 alone as revealed by the Colorado Department of Revenue. As of March 2016, "pot shops" from around the state reached up to $88.9 million in sales from marijuana, edibles, other cannabis products and paraphernalia and is expected to increase throughout the year.
The state-approved pot shops sold more than $55 million in recreational marijuana and more than $33 million for medical marijuana. Christian Sederberg, a lawyer for the cannabis industry, revealed that sales for marijuana remain strong.
Sederberg said, "As the regulated system continues to work, we're also on pace to have over $40 million in excise taxes, meaning there could be additional taxes available from the excise tax to be used for something beyond the public school construction fund." Colorado's pot legalization program, Amendment 64, says that the first $40 million raised by excise tax will go to school construction projects.
Another report from the The Cannabist stated that the marijuana industry contributed to $29 million in legal sales in February, the state's most lucrative month, since it started in January 2014. It was estimated that revenue will push to $1 billion by the end of 2016 should sales continue with its trajectory. Last year, Colorado pot shops sold more than $996 million in products.
According to the Daily Caller, the Tax Foundation authors Gavin Ekins and Joseph Henchman revealed, "At the state level, assuming no black market, state taxes on marijuana similar to Washington and Colorado could increase state's tax revenues by $13 billion nationally, with an additional $5 billion from normal sales taxes. If high tax rates or other factors perpetuate the black market, tax collections would be less."
The legalization of marijuana and other related products nationwide could generate billions for national and local governments. Legal marijuana markets in states such as Colorado and Washington have already earned more than initially expected.
