Seven years ago, Colorado became one of the very first states in the United States to legalize recreational marijuana. In the last few days, the state of Colorado has released a 200-page biennial report which lists the impacts legalization has had on the state as well as the state’s tax revenue.
According to the Regina Leader-Post, adult consumption of the drug has increased tremendously. In 2013 only 13% of adults answered yes to consuming marijuana over the last 30 days, in 2019 that percentage was up to 19%. Regina Leader-Post also stated that youth consumption rates have held at a steady 22% amongst teens who have claimed to use weed in the last 30 days. Baby Boomer weed consumption rates have also tripled since 2014.
Inside this biennial report from the state of Colorado tax revenue is also broken down. Revenue from taxes and licenses has increased from around $70 million in 2014 to $387 million in 2020. This money is split in many ways, one being to school construction funds which had $120 million designated towards the program in 2020.
Cannabis related arrests have also dropped to around 68% from 2012 to 2019 due to the legalization of the drug.
If you want to read the whole report, it can be found here.
Read the whole article here.
