Colorado generated more tax revenue from marijuana than alcohol or cigarettes during the last fiscal year, with $280 million in cannabis tax dollars going toward a variety of government programs and services like K–12 education and health care.
An analysis from the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff (LCS) released on Wednesday showed that even though annual marijuana tax revenue has decreased significantly over the past two years, marijuana sales are still contributing more funds to Colorado’s budget than other regulated substances.
In fact, tax revenue from marijuana in the past year amounted to nearly as much as the state generated from alcohol ($56 million) and cigarettes ($234 million) combined. Cannabis tax revenue also surpassed that of non-cigarette tobacco products ($61 million) and nicotine products ($56 million) in Fiscal Year 2022-2023.
Via LCS.
The LCS economic analysis also details how the state is spending its cannabis tax revenue, with money being divided among several programs, such as substance misuse treatment, early childhood literacy, youth mentorship and bullying prevention, law enforcement training, affordable housing, research and illicit market interdiction.
Here are some examples of how the cannabis revenue is being spent for the current fiscal year:
K-5 Social and Emotional Health
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