Tax is often an unwelcome subject for many people. No one likes the idea of having to hand over their hard earned cash for it to disappear into the black hole of government spending – even if it is essential to keep society running. However, when it comes to cannabis and tax, it is always music to our ears to hear that loads is being generated. It tells us many things: that cannabis sales are popular, and working; that the sale of cannabis is raising money that will go into education and making society safer; and that cannabis is firmly cementing its place as a legal substance – what politician is going to want to give up insane tax revenue?

Well, for the first time ever, the tax raised by cannabis sales in Colorado have outdone those raised by alcohol sales – a titan industry well known for creating a lot of tax wealth. To put things in perspective, cannabis has generated so much tax within the US state, that the government may be legally obligated to give some of it back! They have even had to have a tax free sale holiday to curb the amount being created!

According to the Colorado Department of Revenue, marijuana sales generated roughly $70 million in tax between 2014 and 2015. That is an insane amount of money in a year, and is going to be a huge boost to the state’s infrastructure, economy, and general health. Conversely, alcohol only raised $42 million during the same period (but a pretty impressive figure in its own right!).

SHOULD WE BE WORRIED?

It is superb news that the cannabis industry in Colorado is going from strength to strength, but should we be worried? The alcohol industry is one of the biggest opponents of cannabis legalisation, and pumps millions of dollars into anti-cannabis research and campaigns. Hearing that the cannabis industry is doing better than the alcohol industry could spur many to up their efforts, and try and halt cannabis in its tracks.

But then again, maybe they won’t. Or at least not in Colorado, of all places. This is because, while cannabis may have beaten alcohol sales, alcohol sales are still at the highest they have been in the state. In fact, many within the alcohol industry believe it is actually THANKS to cannabis legalisation that they have seen their own sales go up. As one liquor store owner stated, “when the tide rises, all boats are lifted.”

It is not really known why this is the case, but many are convinced that there is a natural synergy between the two industries. Whether this is a good thing or not, we will leave up to you. One thing is for sure, though, with tax income like this, the cannabis industry isn’t going anywhere.