Colorado marijuana businesses have sold more than $6 billion worth of weed and related products since a voter-approved measure allowing adults over the age of 21 to consume recreational pot took effect in the state on Jan. 1, 2014, the Denver Post reports. The milestone figure was cited by the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division, the agency tasked with overseeing both recreational and medical cannabis businesses in the state. Colorado crossed the $6 billion sales threshold thanks to a record-setting 2018. Sales surpassed $1.55 billion for the year, beating the record of $1.51 billion in 2017.
The sales have Colorado on the cusp of another milestone: $1 billion in marijuana tax, licensing and fee revenue. As of the end of January, the state had collected $927 million from those categories — covering both recreational and medical marijuana businesses — since 2014. Colorado collected more than $266.5 million in taxes, fees and licensing payments in 2018 alone. Many have questioned why marijuana tax money can’t be tapped to pay striking Denver Public Schools teachers more money, but the system set up under Amendment 64, the measure that greenlighted recreational pot use in Colorado, earmarks that revenue for school repairs and construction and other programs, not teacher pay. A report covering the state’s first five years of legal pot sales found that youth use had not increased over that time, but cited stoned driving and an increase in organized crime activities as areas of concern.