Colorado Will Bring In More Than $100 Million In Marijuana Tax Revenues This Year

Colorado Will Bring In More Than $100 Million In Marijuana Tax Revenues This Year

Colorado, the first state to tax legalized recreational marijuana sales, expects to bring in an estimated $98 million in revenue this year, exceeding the state's original expectations by 40 percent.

The state began levying sales and excise taxes on recreational marijuana on January 1, 2014. Moody's Investors Service, in a report released Friday, said legal sales in Colorado will reduce the size of the black market and revenue from legal sales will mean more tax payments flowing into state coffers.

The funds are slated for treatment, school construction and deterring young people from using the drug. School districts will likely get $40 million, or nearly 30 percent, of the projected $134 million in total marijuana tax revenues. New revenues will only make up 1.4 percent of the state's available general fund.

"There's been a lot of buzz around legalization," said Andrea Unsworth, a Moody's analyst. But she cautioned that tax revenues were "still a very small fraction of the state's overall budget. It's not going to sway things too much in one way or another."

This is great to see & I hope that they actually put some of that money towards school districts, like they say they will.

I hope more places will jump on board soon, especially Canada. We could be making so much money!!!! Let's hope things continue to go well, if some countries can do it, so can the rest of us.

I also hope that a database can be put together of studies & other research that is being done with cannabis so that all doctors & patients can see the information. That way they can keep up to date with all the current information & can make informed decisions about treatment options available.

Not to mention the police-resources saved!

a reply to: knoledgeispower

I'd bet snack food sales are up 2000% as well

So, basically they're all getting richer and happier - somebody stop this madness!

Wonderful news. As a Coloradoan it warms my heart to see this.

Unfortunately - personally I cannot partake as I am subjected to random drug screening at my workplace and marijuana is still discriminated against in those regards. (Strange huh? I believe a lawsuit is on the books right now dealing with that very matter.)

The tax revenues will only grow in my opinion. As more and more people accept marijuana as well as the inevitable rising of the tax rates on the product itself. I certainly hope all of that 40$ million goes to schools. Should be more in my opinion - not sure where the money for 'treatment' is going....I am not aware of any marijuana AA type things around here but who knows?

Programs to discourage underage use are a good thing as well.

My county unfortunately is very conservative and did not allow recreational shops so personally my community specifically will not be getting any of the revenue.

People do not realize but many counties in the state opted out of recreational. Right now Pueblo county and the various counties around Denver pretty much have a monopoly on the whole thing. Once the other counties see the amount of money it is bringing in though I believe many of them will opt back in.


Overall this is simply long overdue.


Crime has not risen here - in fact they are grudgingly beginning to report that crime is down overall this year in Colorado. The people are still friendly and happier than ever. No 'refer madness' here. Really the only bad things have been a dozen or so idiots blowing up their apartments by letting off a bunch of Butane INDOORS while attempting to make their own concentrates.....But if you are dumb enough to let off butane in an enclosed apartment that is on you - not marijuana. Other than that - some out of staters have been coming here and buying the medical grade edibles and eating the entire things at once after being told specifically not to (it is medicine after all, one serving at a time).....what do ya expect?

The movement really is taking off here in the states. After the successful recreational launches in Colorado and Washington state it is only a matter of time until every state which has medical accepts recreational as well and they should.

I for one hope to never see the federal government legalize it (because there will be a federal tax). They wanted to ban it? Fine. Never let the feds see ANY of the tax revenue. Only the smart states should get it. IMO the feds do not deserve a single cent after their phony war on drugs failure.


I really hope the movement spreads to you fine folks up North! That'd be great to see.

Also I love your database idea. There is so much unexplored potential with medical marijuana and it really needs to be found out just the power of this medicine. Colorado is already famous for a strain - 'Charlotte's Web' which contains no THC only CBD. CBD is the main killer of pain and stops seizures and the like while THC is more known for the 'high.'

It is great to see them actually developing strains purely for sick people who do not want to get 'high' at all.





Also - nothing is quite better than driving down a major street early in the morning and catching a whiff of the Colorado good stuff coming from one of the local dispensaries running their AC as they trim the buds...

Ahhhh. Gotta love it.


People really are starting to accept it to. You would not believe the people I see going into the shops.

Soccer moms, country farmer guys, young people and elderly people alike, everyday parents, schoolteachers, baseball coaches, etc. You name it - I have seen one going into a shop right after work.

ok so they made $100million in taxes but how much did they lose in federal funding for the war on drugs? how did lawyers and courts lose? how much did they lose in asset seizure? how much did the pharmaceutical and alcohol industries lose?

$100million in taxes is great
but how much more would have been made by private entities combating it instead?

ok so they made $100million in taxes but how much did they lose in federal funding for the war on drugs? how did lawyers and courts lose? how much did they lose in asset seizure? how much did the pharmaceutical and alcohol industries lose?

$100million in taxes is great
but how much more would have been made by private entities combating it instead?

How about factoring in police budgets not needed for the persecution of, and the lost wages/productivity of people that would have been incarcerated, and tack on court costs and incarceration costs while you are at it.

Forget anything else?

originally posted by: sirhumperdink
ok so they made $100million in taxes but how much did they lose in federal funding for the war on drugs? how did lawyers and courts lose? how much did they lose in asset seizure? how much did the pharmaceutical and alcohol industries lose?

$100million in taxes is great
but how much more would have been made by private entities combating it instead?

Problem with that money is that it doesn't come from nowhere. Yes it's not theirs, it's the taxpayers, so it seems like a free lunch. But if you put a man in jail, for something he was doing peacefully with no harm to anyone, and say that person earns a living wage outside of jail, you just wrote off their tax collections. Do this to enough people and soon you have a much bigger impact than a few percent.

The fact that it's only 1.5% of the tax burden only makes this case stronger. Putting people in jail for this is cutting down the rest of the taxes they'd be paying were they free...

a reply to: boncho

true but its not taxes that grease the wheels of politics
its personal gain

My country could be out of debt in a few years if the same was applied here. with less crime and people out of pocket as you cant grow your own.
Ps your avatar looks like Golden Bay.a reply to: BasementWarriorKryptonite

a reply to: knoledgeispower

Not a user but this is what I've been saying for years. If marijuana is legalized in a responsible and taxed manner, the money that can be generated will be tremendous. (and even if it's legalized here, I won't partake.)

I don't know why, but I'm expecting Ebola or something nasty to wipe out the states that let this thing pass. It just doesn't seem right to me just yet that the government has let them slide especially not declassifying weed as a section 1.

How much of this money will go into Israel, Africa, etc., pockets instead of fixing roads and helping schools, etc. here in America??? I think the pot smokers should get to choose what happens to all that tax money.

a reply to: kelbtalfenek

Yes some people have known for years that this would be the result if handled properly.

Imagine what would have happened if it was never made illegal in the first place. 100yrs of research into cannabis & hemp, I'm pretty darn sure we'd know a lot by now about what they can do

originally posted by: knoledgeispower
a reply to: kelbtalfenek

Yes some people have known for years that this would be the result if handled properly.

Is this where us old farts say, "I told you so?"