Colorado gets $2 million from marijuana taxes
Posted: Mar 10, 2014 8:07 PM CDT | Updated: Nov 5, 2014 1:50 PM CDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Colorado raked in about $2 million from taxes on recreational marijuana in January, the first month it was legal to sell non-medicinal pot in the state.
State officials say the numbers came in as expected.
On Jan. 1, Colorado became the first state to permit the sale of recreational marijuana to anyone age 21 or older. Cannabis purchases are limited to one ounce. It's the first place in the world where marijuana will be regulated from seed to sale.
Colorado places a 15% excise tax, a 10% special sales tax and a 2.9% sales tax on recreational marijuana, in addition to application and license fees. It imposes just a 2.9% sales tax, as well as application on license fees, on medical marijuana, which was legalized by voters in Colorado in 2000.
State officials expect to take in about $184 million in tax revenue from marijuana in the first 18 months, according to a report released in February.
The governor has requested $45.5 million of that tax revenue be used for the prevention of youth marijuana use and $40.4 million for treatment of substance use. Public health, law enforcement and public safety, and regulatory oversight are other areas that will receive funding directly from tax revenue collected from marijuana sales.