Tax Revenue for Cannabis

States that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana are objectively better than states that have not (looking at you Texas). As more and more medical marijuana programs are launching all over the country, we are starting to see a repeated pattern of an increase in state tax revenue. Let’s be honest, the United States is currently scrounging up for money right now just like every other country out there. The pandemic has caused a lot of hurt in supply chain management and overall world economy levels. Government entities in the United States are having to get creative in allocating financial resources to various programs and things in their state. Everyone loves the programs and infrastructure that come from more tax revenue, but no one wants to actually pay their taxes when it comes down to it. 

However, one of the many great reasons for the legalization of medical marijuana is because of the great tax revenue that it can produce. States that have legalized medical marijuana (and recreational marijuana) are realizing huge tax gains from these industries, and I can imagine a lot of other states are beginning to water at the mouth when they see some of their neighbors making a lot of money that they could also be making. Afterall, the demand for weed is continuing to grow at extremely fast rates. The effects of the pandemic couldn’t even touch the demand for marijuana in the United States - in fact, it actually increased it. Even when people are living paycheck to paycheck, they can still scrounge up the funds for their next weed purchase. With all of that being said, more states should consider legalizing weed just for the sake of the tax revenue. Today, we are going to be talking about the states with some of the highest tax revenues each year, and what they are doing with all of that money!

So, if you had to guess, which states are seeing the most tax revenue come in from the marijuana industry? There are probably a few different ones that pop into your head, but maybe one that stands out the most. Did you say California? Well if you did, that’s because it was an easy one. Especially when the state of California received more than half a billion dollars in taxes from the marijuana industry. That’s right, more than half a billion dollars just for weed! Americans really love marijuana. You may have also thought of other states like Colorado and Washington, and these states are not too far behind Colorado either. The great thing about the tax revenue coming from the marijuana industries is that it can be used to better the lives of residents in that state in the form of healthcare, education, infrastructure, and more. In fact, the state of Washington invested more than 10 million dollars into the cannabis education and public health programs in the state. 

The tax revenue could also influence a state’s decision to create a recreational marijuana program as well. If you are not aware, starting a medical marijuana program from scratch in any state is a tall order. Most states have to spend months and millions of dollars in order to come up with policy, licensing, and capital to be used in the medical marijuana program. However, the payoff from these programs can be great in the form of taxes. Plus, states that have legalized medical marijuana notice significantly less strain on their public healthcare programs, especially when it comes to things like prescription  medications and painkillers. If a state has legalized medical marijuana, it makes a lot of sense to go ahead and legalize recreational marijuana as well in order to receive all of the tax benefits that weed has to offer.