Marijuana sales in Colorado, the first state in the country to legalize recreational weed, set a record in 2018 by surpassing $1 billion by the end of August, newly released statistics revealed.
Colorado’s licensed dispensaries sold a total of $1,022,245,511 worth of recreational and medical marijuana and marijuana products during the first eight months of the year, in turn generating roughly $247 million in revenue for the state through cannabis-relates taxes and fees, The Denver Post reported Thursday.
The statistics released by the state Department of Revenue suggest Colorado is on path to likely crack the record $1.51 billion in annual marijuana sales reported during all of 2017, the Post reported.
Legal dispensaries in Colorado sold about $996 million worth of marijuana products during the first eight of months of 2017, state officials said previously.
Coloradans voted to legalize medical and recreational marijuana in 2000 and 2012, respectively, and the state became the first in the country to pass rules permitting retail weed sales effective January 1, 2014. Six others have since followed suit by passing rules allowing commercial pot shops to operate, notwithstanding the plant’s status as a controlled substance banned by federal law.
Combined annual medical and recreational sales in Colorado went from roughly $683.4 million in 2014, to $995.6 million in 2015, with dispensaries selling roughly $5.5 billion worth of marijuana and marijuana products since the retail law took effect, according to the Department of Revenue’s statistics.
Legal marijuana sales conducted Colorado and other places with legal weed laws in place are subject to state taxes, and a report published in January found that the U.S. government could reap billions of dollars in related tax revenue annually by ending federal prohibition.
Canada on Wednesday became the second nation in the world to federally legalize marijuana, meanwhile, prompting calls from lawmakers on Capitol Hill to consider following suit.
“Congress should seize the moment, do the right thing and end the federal prohibition on marijuana once and for all by responsibly regulating and taxing cannabis like any other legal substance,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat representing Oregon, one of the seven states to pass laws permitting recreational marijuana dispensaries to operate.
“Now that our neighbor to the north is opening its legal cannabis market, the longer we delay, the longer we miss out on potentially significant economic opportunities for Oregon and other states across the country,” Mr. Wyden said in a statement this week.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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