Colorado Marijuana Statistics
Since Colorado became the first state to begin legal sales of recreational marijuana in 2014, the lifetime tax revenue from marijuana sales has soared to more than $2 billion total as of August 2022. Revenue totals have increased every year up to 2021, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue.
This revenue comes in part from a 15 percent sales tax on retail marijuana sales in the state. Medical marijuana sales are subject to a 2.9 percent sales tax.
Marijuana-related arrests in the state dropped dramatically since legalization in 2012. Marijuana possession arrests, which make up a majority of arrests, dropped by 71 percent. Marijuana sales arrests were cut in half, according to the Division of Criminal Justice.
Despite this drop, racial disparities in marijuana arrest rates persist. In 2019, the arrest rate for Black people was 160 per 100,000 people, more than double that of white people, according to the Division of Criminal Justice.
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