For First Time Monthly Recreational Marijuana Sales Surpass $100 Million in Colorado
For the first time since the start of legal sales, the monthly market for recreational marijuana has surpassed $100 million in Colorado.
According to data released by the Colorado Department of Revenue, there was $137 million in legal marijuana and marijuana products sold in the state in July, with $101 million being from recreational marijuana sales (with the remaining $36 million from medical marijuana). This is a slight increase over the $95 million in recreational marijuana and marijuana products sold in June, and adds to the over $750 million in marijuana sold in the first half of this year. For July, Colorado earned roughly $15 million in taxes from these sales; since the start of legal marijuana sales in 2014, Colorado has garnered well over half a billion dollars in taxes.
July marked the start of a new tax structure for marijuana in Colorado. The tax is now 15% at the point of sale, with recreational marijuana sales exempt from the 2.9% state sales tax; prior to July the tax was 10% in addition to the state sales tax.
“Due to this tax change, the marijuana industry is in a period of transition,” says the Department of Revenue. “The value reported (for the retail marijuana tax revenue from the 2.9 percent state sales tax) may include, but is not limited to: errors filed by taxpayers that may be corrected by amended returns in the future, prior period return payments and 2.9 percent state sales tax collected on accessories.”
In Colorado tax revenue garnered from marijuana sales goes to fund schools, hospitals and roads.
