Colorado’s Legal Cannabis Revenue Hits the $500 Million Mark
Colorado started collecting taxes from the sale of legal cannabis in 2014. This month, the states total cannabis revenue reached the half-billion dollar mark.
Colorados legal cannabis industry has reached a major milestone, providing the state with $500 million in revenue since the start of commercial sales in 2014. This does not include additional revenue collected at the local levelby city and county governments.
A recently releasedanalysis of state databy Denver-based VS Strategies traces the flow fromthe states five main revenue streams (the 15 percent excise tax and 20 percent special tax contributed the bulk of the funds) and maps outhow the money is being distributed across the state.
According to the report, revenue currently appearsto be pouring in at a similar rate to last year: Cannabis sales for 2017 so far have already surpassed total sales for 2014 and are well on the way to something comparable to the $198,522,164 collected in 2016.
The allocation of cannabis revenue broke down as follows: 51.3 percent to K-12 public schools, 14.2 percent to substance abuse and prevention programs, 11.9 percent to covering regulatory costs, 10 percent to surveys, research and public education, 8.4 percent to other public health programs and 2.6 percent to criminal justice and public safety, with the final 1.6 percent going to youth services programs.
State legislatorRep. Jonathan Singer, a former youth counselor whos taken a lead role in promoting Colorados legal cannabis industry as a revenue stream for social services, joined Lauren Arnold, Executive Director of Adoption Exchange an adoption and foster service organization that recently received more than $3 million in cannabis revenue through the Tony Grampsas Youth Services Program at a press conference to speak on the historic milestone for the state.
At the presser, Mason Tvert former communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project, now with VS Strategies and cannabis attorney Brian Vicente, who were both instrumental in the 2012 campaign for regulated and taxed commercial cannabis sales, handed Singer a giant check for $500 million.
Legalizing, regulating, and taxing marijuana for adult use has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue for Colorado, Tvert said. Marijuana tax money has been used to improve a wide range of programs and services. It is funding everything from school construction to ...
