Colorado cannabis businesses have sold nearly $10 billion in cannabis products since statewide cannabis sales started in 2014, according to new data released by the Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR) on Tuesday.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the data indicates that 2020 was a record-breaking year for the Colorado cannabis industry. The state sold $2.19 billion in cannabis products, a 25% increase from 2019, which totaled $1.75 billion.
In December 2020 alone, the state sold nearly $36.7 million in medical cannabis and $149.7 million in adult-use cannabis, totaling over $186.3 million in cannabis products, roughly a 30% increase compared to December 2019 sales.
The data shows that Colorado ended 2020 with nearly $9.98 billion in total cannabis sales to date, which indicates that the state could have already surpassed the $10 billion mark from January and February sales, or it will happen soon.
Additionally, tax revenue is collected from the cannabis dispensaries that collect 2.9% in-state sales tax, 15% in cannabis retail sales tax and a 15% excise tax on wholesale/transfers of retail cannabis. Revenue is also generated from cannabis license and application fees, according to the state’s cannabis tax report.
In 2020, the state collected nearly $387.5 million in total tax revenue and fees for the year, ending 2020 with over $1.5 billion collected in tax revenue and fees to date.
As of January, the state has collected $1.63 billion in tax and revenue fees since 2014, according to the data.
For more information, visit cdor.colorado.gov.
