Tax revenues from legal marijuana from the summer have broken records in Colorado. They doubled monthly figures from the year before and are on their way to surpass estimates of sales from this year. Through the first seven months, Colorado has generated approximately $73.5 million which means that they should be collecting over $125 million for 2015. In 2014, predictions were that the legal cannabis industry would raise over $70 million in tax revenue, but many were disappointed when the state collected just $44 million. However, there has been a strong rebound in 2015 and it seems as if it is owed to “a tipping point in social acceptance.”
“I attribute it to … more and more people … comfortable with the legalization of marijuana,” Tyler Henson, president of the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, stated. “They don’t see it as something that’s bad for them.”
The CEO of Colorado Harvest Company, Tim Cullen, said, “People who would never have considered pot before is now popping their heads in.” Cullen’s company has three subsidiaries and is looking to open up a fourth. According to him, sales have been growing about 8-12% per month over the course of 2015. Support for legalization has significantly grown since “Amendment 64 [was approved] by a 10-point margin in November 2012.” A poll from a University in Colorado has shown that 58% of people support legalization while only 38% are opposed to it.
Sales in 2014 may have been restricted by the lack of dispensaries actually selling marijuana. In January of 2014, only stores with existing medical marijuana licenses were allowed to sell recreational marijuana. Because of this, only a couple dozen locations throughout Colorado were selling recreational marijuana in 2014.
“Ask any business owner now how hard it is getting your business approved and getting your license,” Henson, of the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, said. “We had a lot of new businesses and people getting on the market, but, unfortunately, weren’t able to come online right away.”
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