The state collects hundreds of millions of dollars a year from legal cannabis sales, but it’s really just a drop in the budget bucket.
—
It seems like a question that comes up every time state budget cuts are in the news: With all the money Colorado collects from legal marijuana, why is it still struggling to fund schools and other priorities?
Marijuana is heavily taxed in Colorado. Retail stores pay a 15 percent excise tax on the wholesale product, and buyers chip in an additional 15 percent sales tax. In total, the industry sent $248 million to the state’s coffers in the last fiscal year.
