Colorado's Weed Extravaganza

Weed is legal in Colorado, and the extravaganza is in full swing. What's more, they're bringing in significant tax revenues from it. How much?

The state taxes it at a rate of 25-28%, so given 2017 sales of $1.3 billion, this means taxes brought in more than $250 million.

The first 40 million collected goes toward a public school fund, 18 million to marijuana law enforcement, and another 15 or so to various departments like agriculture and literacy programs. The rest is placed in a general fund and used for discretionary funding.

The shops themselves are literally everywhere -- even at 9600ft in Breckenridge, a popular tourist/ski town about 1.5 hours outside of Denver. Dispensaries offer an impressive array of innovative products, including chocolates, drink mixes, "wax" (high-potency resin), cookies, candies, and tablets. Your typical "street" baggie size of plant buds, 1/8oz, costs $30-50, and a chocolate bar will set you back $25.

Notably, now that it's legal, the product offering is more granular -- that is, more tailored for specific uses. For example, you can buy items that only contain Cannabidiol (CBD) and no THC. CBD is a component of weed that has very little noticeable effects above the neck (non-psychoactive). It has been found to decrease inflammation & pain, relieve anxiety and even help control psychosis, and also appears promising for treating epilepsy. One study found a 30-40% reduction in seizures for patients taking CBD. Other studies show interesting effects on facial recognition, with CBD improving people's ability to discern others' emotional states.

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/revenue/colorado-marijuana-tax-data

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/289613

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474442215003798

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4398332/