That’s how much tax revenue was collected from legal marijuana sales in America

This article originally appeared on Cannabis.net and was republished with permission.

How much tax revenue has been collected from legal marijuana sales in the US since Colorado began selling cannabis in 2014? The answer is a whopping $ 10.4 billion, according to a new report from the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).

The state’s $ 10.4 billion in tax revenue is staggering when you consider that only a handful of states took in tax revenue from 2014 to nearly 2019. Add to that the slow adoption in many states like Massachusetts and the lack of sales in populous states like Florida and New York, and you know the number could double if things had moved faster on the political side.

Photo by Hillary Kladke / Getty Images

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It raised $ 3 billion in 2021 alone, nearly a third of the total! That is, some populous countries only had one to three months of reporting in the calendar year last year.

What would the federal tax number be if we had legal marijuana laws? The first Democratic bill proposed a federal tax of 25%, while other bills followed with numbers ranging from 1% to 3%. Not that it compares apples to apples, but on a conservative side, the U.S. federal government has left over $ 50 million in tax revenue by not legalizing marijuana at the federal level. Cannabis taxes will fuel the US economy, but may not solve the trillion dollar debt crisis in the future.

The MPP report points to the following highlights:

Alaska: Half of all tax revenue from adult cannabis use is invested in the Relapse Reduction Fund and supports re-entry programs for current and former detainees.

California: More than $ 100 million has been given to community groups and local nonprofit programs that benefit people who are adversely affected by criminal drug laws.

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Colorado: $ 471.9 million of total cannabis tax revenue was used to improve Colorado’s public school system.

Illinois: In addition to investing 20% ​​of tax revenue for adult cannabis use in mental health services, the state is channeling 25% of funds to the Recover, Reinvest and Renew program, which helps local organizations develop programs that benefit disadvantaged communities.

Michigan: For fiscal 2020 cannabis taxes for adult use, the Michigan Treasury Department announced in March 2021 that approximately $ 11.6 million will be transferred to the School Aid Fund for K-12 Education.

Washington: For every $ 1 billion in cannabis sales tax revenue, nearly $ 600 million goes to public health initiatives, including a fund that provides health insurance for low-income families.

For more information or to read the full breakdown, read the MPP report here.

This article originally appeared on Cannabis.net and was republished with permission.