A grower and their plant take in some sun
Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images
Marijuana sales in Colorado
have been a huge boon to the economy there. Hundreds of millions of
dollars have flowed into the state, creating jobs, raising tax revenue,
and generally making the state a better place. Yet another milestone has
been reached, with the final sales numbers for August coming out October 10, and they’re a doozy.
Colorado had more than $100 million in combined marijuana
sales in one month. A little more than $41 million in medical marijuana,
and a little less than $60 million in recreational make for some eye-popping numbers, and some optimism about the drug’s future in helping to fund many other projects in the state.
In addition to the raw dollars that have come in, legal weed has led to an unprecedented economic boom, as well as a major drop in crime in the state. Additionally, drug cartels are reeling
from the legalization, with it undermining their power and forcing them
to either find other drugs to market, attempt to enter the legal pot
world, or simply be forced out completely.
The increase in sales also led to an increase in tax revenue -- 70 percent over August 2014, for a total of about $13 million.
The state as a whole took in some $76.2 million for the entirety of
2014, and is already pushing $87 million for 2015. Overall, the
experiment with legal marijuana has been a smashing success, astounding
even the most optimistic of proponents.
Oregon is looking for much of the same success, with its
first full month of recreational sales more than doubling Colorado’s
January 2014 numbers. Additionally, the media paid less attention to the legalization there since the novelty had worn off following Washington and Colorado breaking the barrier down first.
Other states may soon follow suit, and some Reservations are already getting on board as well, finally stopping the asinine prohibition of marijuana that has claimed so many lives and ruined many others. There is still opposition in some corners, of course, but with numbers and trends like these it will be hard to put the cat back into the bag.
http://www.examiner.com/article/colorado-monthly-marijuana-sales-top-100-million-one-month?cid=sm-ip-facebook-101215-7.30pm-COMarijuanaSales
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