States made more than 3.7 billion pot sales last year

States that have legalized the sale of adult-use recreational cannabis collectively generated more than $3.7 billion in revenue last year, according to a new report from the Marijuana Policy Project.

The results, released Wednesday, total a 34% increase in adult-use sales compared to 2020 — and continuing an upward trend that dates back to 2014, when recreational cannabis sales began in Colorado and Washington, the first both states that ended banning pot use for adults.

Today, 18 states have legalized the sale of adult-use cannabis. The Marijuana Policy Project’s most recent report was based on sales figures from the 11 states that had licensed marijuana dealerships open in 2021.

Total revenue of $3,715,994,252 does not include sales of medicinal cannabis.

Toi Hutchinson, the President and CEO of the Marijuana Policy Project, said the latest report “provides further evidence that ending cannabis prohibition has tremendous financial benefits for state governments.”

“The legalization and regulation of adult-use cannabis has generated billions of dollars in tax revenue, funded vital state-level services and programs, and created thousands of jobs across the country. Meanwhile, states that are lagging behind continue to squander government resources enforcing archaic cannabis laws that hurt far too many Americans,” said Hutchinson, who gave up her post as senior cannabis advisor to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker late last year. to take the helm in advocacy.

The Marijuana Policy Project provided state-by-state total revenue for recreational cannabis sales over the last year, with California bringing in by far the most:

•Alaska: $28,900,231

• Arizona: $153,824,757

• California: $1,294,632,799

• Colorado: $396,157,005

• Illinois: $424,206,703

• Maine: $12,362,622

• Massachusetts: $227,474,842

• Michigan: $209,912,278

• Nevada: $159,885,501

•Oregon: $177,773,944

• Washington: $630,863,570

Last year’s total earnings represented a big jump from 2020, which generated $2,766,027,570 in recreational pot earnings. And that represented a significant increase from 2019, when it generated $1,707,204,090 in revenue.

According to the Marijuana Policy Project, “Since 2014, when sales began in Colorado and Washington state, states have reported a combined $11.2 billion in tax revenues from legal adult cannabis sales.”

As the group explained, “in states with legal adult cannabis sales, tax revenues can be allocated to social services and programs” that “fund education, school construction, early literacy, public libraries, bullying prevention, behavioral health, alcohol and drug treatment, veterans services, Conservation, professional training, costs of clearing convictions, and reinvesting in communities disproportionately impacted by the war on cannabis, among other things.”

“Legalizing adult-use cannabis was a smart investment… In addition to generating revenue for statewide budgets, cities and communities have also generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in new revenue from local adult-use cannabis taxes,” the Marijuana Policy Project said in its analysis.

One state that will be included in next year’s report will be New Mexico, which just last week started selling adult-use cannabis.

The state reported more than $3 million in recreational pot sales during its opening weekend.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has touted legalization as a potential economic engine for the state.

“As we try to recover from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, entrepreneurs will benefit from this great opportunity to create lucrative new businesses, state and local governments will benefit from the additional revenue and, more importantly, the Workers will benefit from the opportunity to land new types of jobs and build careers,” Lujan Grisham said last year after signing the legalization bill.