Colorado almost reaches a high $1 billion in tax money for marijuana, pot sales crack $6 billion

[SaysWho?]

Obv joke is obv, but it must be done.

 

Quote

The sales have Colorado on the cusp of another milestone: $1 billion in marijuana tax, licensing and fee revenue. As of the end of January, the state had collected $927 million from those categories — covering both recreational and medical marijuana businesses — since adult-use pot became legal in 2014. Colorado collected more than $266.5 million in taxes, fees and licensing payments in 2018 alone. 

Many in the state have questioned why marijuana tax money can’t be tapped to pay striking Denver Public Schools teachers more money, but the system set up under Amendment 64, the measure that greenlighted recreational pot use in Colorado, earmarks that revenue for school repairs and construction and other programs, not teacher pay.

 

[Joe]

crack

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

For reference, I wanted to see what the state budget was/is. 28.9 billion. This tax money is a ridiculous amount. I'd imagine once more states legalize it this revenue may go down, but damn.

 

@SFLUFAN tell northam that legalizing weed would help with racial reconsciliation

[ThreePi]

People post these tax revenue numbers as some big victory, but are they? There's more to it than just $x received in taxes. While being an early adopter they're sure to be pulling in money from other states, but people have a finite number of dollars to spend and a dollar spent on marijuana is a dollar not spent elsewhere. It's just another regressive sin tax, it's not real solution.

[SaysWho?]

4 minutes ago, ThreePi said:

People post these tax revenue numbers as some big victory, but are they? There's more to it than just $x received in taxes. While being an early adopter they're sure to be pulling in money from other states, but people have a finite number of dollars to spend and a dollar spent on marijuana is a dollar not spent elsewhere. It's just another regressive sin tax, it's not real solution.

 

Not necessarily. It's like if several movies come out the same weekend but all of them do well. They didn't cannibalize each other; they expanded the market.

[marioandsonic]

13 minutes ago, ThreePi said:

People post these tax revenue numbers as some big victory, but are they? There's more to it than just $x received in taxes. While being an early adopter they're sure to be pulling in money from other states, but people have a finite number of dollars to spend and a dollar spent on marijuana is a dollar not spent elsewhere. It's just another regressive sin tax, it's not real solution.

You could make the argument that many of these people were already spending money on weed.  The difference is that now they're getting taxed for it.

[GoldenTongue]

21 minutes ago, ThreePi said:

People post these tax revenue numbers as some big victory, but are they? There's more to it than just $x received in taxes. While being an early adopter they're sure to be pulling in money from other states, but people have a finite number of dollars to spend and a dollar spent on marijuana is a dollar not spent elsewhere. It's just another regressive sin tax, it's not real solution.

The state now earns tax revenue on a previously black market product, new legitimate business enterprises are afforded an opportunity to sell their product, the previously illegal product becomes something now subject to regulation and some level of uniform QA/QC, to say nothing of the fact that the state's criminal justice system is relieved of a significant burden.

 

Agreed that there is more to the picture than tax revenue alone, but I think your conclusion might be just as reductive.

[CitizenVectron]

In Canada studies have shown that since legalization, the same people who used it before have continued to, while a small number of new people have tried. I imagine it's the same in Colorado, so this isn't new money leaving the economy, it's proper tax being collected.

[Rodimus]

4 hours ago, ThreePi said:

People post these tax revenue numbers as some big victory, but are they? There's more to it than just $x received in taxes. While being an early adopter they're sure to be pulling in money from other states, but people have a finite number of dollars to spend and a dollar spent on marijuana is a dollar not spent elsewhere. It's just another regressive sin tax, it's not real solution.

That might be true if people where not already buying the product without paying any taxes prior.

[PaladinSolo]

Yeah it seems dubious to believe people were either saving this money or spending nothing on their weed habit before making it legal.