Since legalizing cannabis for medical and recreational use by adults, Colorado has seen a massive amount of revenue from sales, entering the billion dollar mark…
The new, record-breaking data comes directly from the Colorado Department of Revenue, confirming just recently that in the first nine months of 2017, $1.1 billion of cannabis was sold in the Rocky Mountain state.
Back in 2016, the state hit the billion dollar mark at 10 months, this year they hit it at 9 months. If that trend continues, as many expect it will, you can do the math to figure out how much the industry in Colorado alone will be worth in say ten years time.
No other state in any country in the world has even come close to this figure, prompting evermore lively discussion about cannabis legalization, both on a State level, and a Federal one.
With an increase in revenue many percentages above the average, many are now looking to cannabis not for medicinal use or even for recreational use, but rather as a solid, viable business venture which could make a lot of money.
While folks logically expected a tapered increase in cannabis sales, no one really envisaged that it would happen so fast, and at such an exponential rate. Let us not forget that back in July, Colorado introduced a new, revolutionary taxing structure for cannabis, with the special sales tax rate for recreational marijuana sales increasing from 10 to 15 percent.
At the same time, the new tax code for cannabis, exempted sales from the 2.9% standard state sales tax rate.
It’s great news for patients and cannabis enthusiasts alike, but it still remains to be seen whether or not Colorado can successfully keep dodging the Feds, while they stimulate a tremendous amount of revenue to the local economy.
[Image credit- Pixabay]
