Colorado’s legal marijuana industry garnered over $22 million in revenue from taxes and fees in October.
According to data compiled and released by the Colorado Department of Revenue, the state made $21,845,360 in tax revenue from the legal distribution of marijuana. The state also made $937,627 in marijuana fees, bringing the combined total to $22,782,987. This is a slight increase over the $22,608,782 made in September.
Colorado’s year-to-date marijuana tax total is now $232,906,849. The total since the start of legal sales in 2014 is $2,764,458,618.
The high point for the year in terms of marijuana taxes came in April, with $24,323,079 sold. Given the cannabis holiday 4/20 occurs during April, it’s likely not a shock to most people that this is the case.
Colorado was one of the first two states to legalize marijuana in 2012, with licensed marijuana retail outlets opening in 2014 Retail marijuana is subject to a 15% sales tax levied on retail sales, and a 15% excise tax levied on the first transfer of marijuana from a wholesaler to a processor or retailer. This is in addition to the state’s 2.9% states sales tax, and a local tax of up to 2.9%. Medical marijuana is exempt from the 15% sales tax and 15% excise tax, but not the 2.9% statewide sales tax.
More data on Colorado marijuana tax revenue can be found by clicking here.
According to the Marijuana Enforcement Division, licensed marijuana retail outlets had a 99% success rate during a string of recent underage sales checks.
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