Recreational Marijuana Sales Booms Across US, Generates More Than $3 Million Tax Revenue

Recreational marijuana sales hit a boom across the United States in 2021 reaching new levels in almost a dozen states. Nationwide tax revenue for marijuana in 11 states tipped the charts as it generated more than $3 billion.

According to NBC News, the state of California is leading the pack among 10 states in cannabis tax revenue. In the third quarter alone of 2021, the golden state recorded a revenue of $322 million, raking in almost more than $3 billion in total cannabis tax revenue in the first three quarters of 2021, a report from the Marijuana Policy Project showed.

As of last week, 18 states across the US have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. In 2021, New Mexico, Connecticut, Virginia, and New York legalized cannabis, and most plan to begin official sales this year including Vermont, Montana as well as New Jersey.

Virginia on the other hand will hold off on sales til 2024, while Washington DC is still working things out with congress to go ahead with sales.

It has been 9 years since the use of recreational marijuana was first legalized in the states of Washington and Colorado, but both only started sales in 2014. That same year, Colorado made estimated sales of $46 million while Washington came in at $22 million. In 2021, cannabis sales taxes for both states climbed to $423 million in Colorado with Washington raking in $480 million.

Meanwhile, marijuana sales are picking up in Arizona after just a year of legalizing recreational marijuana. The state has combined both medical and recreational marijuana sales through various cannabis dispensaries and has seen sales exceeding $1 billion in revenue for the cannabis industry.

The southwestern state collects two types of taxes off cannabis sales, one being a 16% excise tax and a transaction privilege tax (TPT). The dedicated excise tax revenues are meant to help community colleges, fire districts, municipal police, the Justice Reinvestment Fund, the Highway User Fund as well as the Attorney General.

The marijuana industry in Arizona was estimated to generate about $135 million in cannabis tax revenue since legalizing its use in 2020. In a recent report from the Arizona Department of Revenue, the state has collected close to $200 million in cannabis taxes from both medical and recreational marijuana sales.