Colorado: April Sets Record for Most Legal Cannabis Sold in Single Month with $117 Million
(Photo: naturalsociety.com)
In Colorado, April set a record for the most legal cannabis ever sold in a single month period, with $117 million, according to BDS Analytics, a firm that tracks retail cannabis sales nationwide. This marks a 58% increase from April, 2015, and the $117 million garnered easily breaks the previous record of $101 million set in December.
The $117 million in cannabis sold in April follows roughly $270 million in legal cannabis sold January through March. In total there has been nearly $400 million in legal cannabis sold in Colorado in the first four months of 2016 (a 37% increase from the same period last year), putting the yearly total on track to surpass $1 billion.
The $388 million in legal cannabis sold so far this year in Colorado has resulted in over $50 million in taxes for the state, with roughly $15 million going directly to school funding.
In Colorado, it’s legal for those 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of cannabis, and purchase it from a licensed retail outlet, thanks to the passage of Amendment 64 in 2012. The state has three types of taxes on recreational cannabis; a standard 2.9% sales tax, a 10% special cannabis sales tax, and a 15% excise tax on wholesale cannabis transfers.
In 2015 there was roughly $1 billion in legal cannabis sold, resulting in over $135 million in taxes for the state.