After the recent legalization of recreational marijuana in the state, Arizona is on track to exceed Colorado in cannabis, with total annual sales expected to pass the $1 billion mark by the end of 2021.
The Arizona Department of Revenue reported that total number of marijuana sales has nearly doubled since January, when the state legalized the recreational sale of marijuana to anyone at least 21 years of age.
Arizona received about $75 million in taxes from both medical and recreational marijuana sales from January to May 2021, according to state data obtained by The Arizona Republic.
Arizona approved the use of medical marijuana in 2010 and officially approved recreational use of the substance last November, joining 18 states, along with Washington, D.C. and Guam, in fully legalizing it.
Based on monthly sales of $117 million to $123 million over the past three months, the state has the potential pass $1 billion in total marijuana sales by the end of 2021. Colorado only had $684 million in total marijuana sales in its first year of full legalization back in 2014.
The Colorado Department of Revenue reported that In 2020, Colorado collected around $2.2 million in medical and recreational marijuana sales, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue.
In May, a report from the Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization group, discovered that states have collected a total of $7.9 billion in tax revenue from the recreational sale since 2014, when Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize the recreational use of the drug in 2014.
California was found to be the biggest legal marijuana market, obtaining more than $1 billion in taxes in 2020 from recreational marijuana sales. Washington state collected $614 million in marijuana tax revenue while Colorado accumulated $362 million in recreational taxes.
The rise in sales and tax revenue in several states across the country comes as Democrats look to federally legalize pot nationwide. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) led a group of lawmakers in proposing a draft bill last week to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.
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