Yo, peep this – States out here making mad cash off that adult-use marijuana tax revenue. Like, we talking over $20 billion since the first markets popped off a decade ago, according to a fresh report from the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). That’s some serious bank, ya feel?
MPP also said that in 2023 alone, states raked in over $4 billion in recreational cannabis tax revenue – the most ever made in a single year. Even though revenue took a hit in big states like Colorado and Nevada last year, the new state markets stepping up and holding it down. And word on the street is, this trend gonna keep on going with more places like Delaware and Ohio getting in on that legalization action soon.
Karen O’Keefe, the director of state policies at MPP, straight up said, “State-legal cannabis sales be bringing in them big bucks. With over $20 billion from adult-use cannabis tax revenue since day one, the legal weed game be funding crucial services and programs all across the country.”
And it ain’t just about the money flow – the adult-use cannabis markets are also creating mad job opportunities. Hundreds of thousands of new jobs and thousands of new small businesses are popping up thanks to this industry, according to O’Keefe.
The report is all about them adult-use marijuana taxes and doesn’t even account for the money being made from medical cannabis sales, which is now legal in 38 states. In 2022, marijuana tax revenue was lower than before for the first time ever, which experts say was due to a bunch of factors like COVID policies and trends.
Check out these state-by-state totals for 2023:
– Alaska: $28,097,114
– Arizona: $257,929,322
– California: $1,082,452,368
– Colorado: $256,756,467
– Connecticut: $24,613,367
– Illinois: $552,166,729
– Maine: $35,593,347
– Maryland: approximately $29,880,000
– Massachusetts: $263,488,752
– Michigan: $473,303,560
– Missouri: $105,941,225
– Montana: $51,636,106
– Nevada: $178,135,259
– New Jersey: $45,083,223
– New Mexico: $67,440,312
– New York: approximately $21,000,000
– Rhode Island: $12,621,982
– Oregon: $148,133.667
– Washington: $532.516.060
– Vermont: $21.642.857
Overall total: approximately $4.188.431.717
Last fall the U.S. Census Bureau dropped a map showing how much of that state revenue is coming from marijuana tax money. Some states hitting big numbers recently include Massachusetts with over $7 billion in combined sales since adult-use stores opened in 2018 and New Mexico with over a billion in total sales since launching its adult-use cannabis market.
Missouri ain’t playing either – licensed retailers moved over $1.4 billion worth of legal cannabis just in their first full year of sales. Over half a dozen states broke monthly sales records last December too.
The investment firm TD Cowen said they expect legal cannabis sales to hit $37 billion by 2027 – up from around $29 billion in 2023. And they think some of that growth is gonna come from folks swapping out alcohol for weed.
So there you have it – weed making money moves and changing the game one toke at a time. Keep blazing and raising that green!
