The United States adult-use cannabis industry has generated over $20 billion in total tax revenue since the first legal recreational cannabis purchase was made in Colorado on January 1st, 2014 according to a new report by the Marijuana Policy Project.
“Through the first quarter of 2024, states have reported a combined total of more than $20 billion in tax revenue from legal, adult-use cannabis sales. In 2023 alone, legalization states generated more than $4 billion in cannabis tax revenue from adult-use sales, which is the most revenue generated by cannabis sales in a single year.” the Marijuana Policy project stated in a press release.
“State-legal cannabis sales continue to provide significant economic benefits. With over $20 billion generated in adult-use cannabis tax revenue since the first sales began, the legal cannabis industry is providing much-needed funding for crucial services and programs in states across the country. Additionally, the implementation of adult-use cannabis markets has spurred significant job growth, creating hundreds of thousands of new employment opportunities, along with thousands of new small businesses,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies at the Marijuana Policy Project.
Twenty-four states have legalized cannabis for adults, in addition to Washington D.C, although D.C. and Virginia do not currently permit legal adult-use sales. Legal sales have not launched yet in Delaware or Ohio, however, the launch of sales is expected in the near future in both states.
Below is a state-by-state breakdown of tax revenue generated by the legal U.S. adult-use cannabis industry in 2023 alone:
- Alaska: $28,097,114
- Arizona: $257,929,322
- California: $1,082,452,368
- Colorado: $256,756,467
- Connecticut: $24,613,367
- Illinois: $552,166,729
- Maine: $35,593,347
- Maryland: approximately $29,880,000
- Massachusetts: $263,488,752
- Michigan: $473,303,560
- Missouri: $105,941,225
- Montana: $51,636,106
- Nevada: $178,135,259
- New Jersey: $45,083,223
- New Mexico: $67,440,312
- New York: approximately $21,000,000
- Rhode Island: $12,621,982
- Oregon: $148,133,667
- Washington: $532,516,060
- Vermont: $21,642,857
Total legal cannabis sales in the United States are expected to reach $31.4 billion in 2024 according to a recent analysis by Whitney Economics. Additionally, leading cannabis jobs platform Vangst, in conjunction with Whitney Economics, estimates that the legal cannabis industry now supports 440,445 full time-equivalent cannabis jobs in the United States.
Whitney Economics also projects the following legal cannabis sales figures in the United States for the coming years:
- 2024: $31.4 billion (9.1% growth from 2023)
- 2025: $35.2 billion (12.1% growth from 2024)
- 2030: $67.2 billion
- 2035: $87.0 billion
The emerging legal cannabis industry in the United States is projected to add roughly $112 billion to the nation’s economy in 2024 according to a newly released analysis by MJBiz Daily. The projection is part of the company’s 2024 MJBiz Factbook.
“The total U.S. economic impact generated by regulated marijuana sales could top $112.4 billion in 2024, about 12% more than last year,” MJBiz stated in its initial reporting.