Denver, CO–(ENEWSPF)–June 12, 2014. Legal sales of cannabis in Colorado to those who are over the age of 21 topped $22 million dollars in April, according to data released by the state government and reported this week by The Denver Post. The total is up 15 percent from March, when retailers sold approximately $19 million worth of marijuana to customers.
Additionally, state-licensed sales of cannabis at medicinal dispensaries – which are subject to a lower tax rate than are sales of retail marijuana – totaled $31 million for the month of April.
“So far this year, Colorado has brought in nearly $11 million in sales and excise taxes on recreational marijuana,” The Denver Post reported. “The total take of recreation and medical marijuana taxes and fees is nearly $18 million.”
Under Colorado law, commercial cannabis producers must pay a 15 percent excise tax, while retail customers must pay an additional ten percent sales tax (on top of the state’s existing 2.9 percent sales tax) on any cannabis purchased at a licensed facility. Voters approved the imposition of cannabis-specific taxes (Proposition AA) this past November.
State-licensed retail outlets first became operational in Colorado on January 1, 2014. Regulations regarding the state-licensed sale of medical marijuana by dispensaries initially went into effect in 2010.
At present, an estimated 200 retail cannabis facilities are operational in the state.
The first of several similarly licensed retail outlets are expected to be operational in Washington beginning on July 1, 2014.
Source: http://norml.org
