Recreational Marijuana | show

A new MPP report shows that states that have legalized marijuana use generated more than $3.7 billion in recreational cannabis sales taxes in 2021.

This combined tax windfall is a 34% increase from 2020’s combined cannabis tax revenue of $2.76 billion.

MPP’s report is based on the total tax revenue for adult cannabis use collected by each legal state since 2014, when Colorado and Washington State first legalized recreational use.

To date, eighteen states have laws legalizing, taxing, and regulating cannabis for adults 21 and older. Eight of those states have only approved the laws in recent years, while six have yet to begin sales and tax collection.

Figures do not include taxes imposed by local cities or municipalities. They also don’t include the vast sums of medical cannabis tax revenues, licensing and application fees paid by cannabis companies, or taxes levied on workers in the cannabis industry, or corporate income taxes paid to the federal government.

It is clear that the legalization and regulation of cannabis has generated billions of dollars in tax revenue and has helped create many thousands of jobs across the country.

In stark contrast, states lagging behind in legalizing recreational cannabis are missing out on millions of dollars in lost revenue. Many of them still enforce archaic cannabis laws that do more harm than good and waste valuable resources.

Here are the 2021 recreational cannabis tax revenue breakdowns by state and population to put them in perspective.

Pop 730,000 Alaska: $28,900,231

Pop. 7.3 million Arizona: $153,824,757

Pop. 39.5 million California: $1,294,632,799

Population 5.8 million Colorado: $396,157,005

12.7 million Illinois residents: $424,206,703

1.3 million Maine residents: $12,362,622

Pop. 6.9 million Massachusetts: $227,474,842

Pop 10 million Michigan: $209,912,278

Pop. 3.1 million Nevada: $159,885,501

Pop 4.2 million. Oregon: $177,773,944

7.6 million inhabitants. Washington: $630,863,570

Here is each state’s total revenue since recreational marijuana use was legalized.

Oct 2016 through late 2021 Alaska: $102,274,177

2021 to January 2022 Arizona: $169,153,405

2018 to late 2021 California: $3,440,801,614

2014 to February 2022 Colorado: $1,819,517,031

2020 to February 2022 Illinois: $679,487,694

Oct 2020 to Feb 2022 Maine: $16,437,036

Nov 2018 to Feb 2022 Massachusetts: $444,381,123

Dec 2019 to Feb 2022 Michigan: $333,289,620

July 2017 through late 2021 Nevada: $508,287,750

February 2016 through late 2021 Oregon: $177,773,944

June 2014 through the end of 2021 Washington: $3,041,947,860

To learn more about tax rates, what states spend those taxes on, and how tax revenues help states, see the full report below mpp.org