Economy

California: Cannabis Tax Revenue Nears $XNUMX Billion

Published

3 years ago

December 3, 2020

Photo: DR

Um report released on Monday by the California State Office of the Legislative Analyst (LAO) shows “very strong growth”, poised to hit the $2020 billion barrier in cannabis tax revenue by XNUMX. The trend is similar in other states where cannabis is legal , such as Illinois, Colorado or Oregon.

In California, LAO presented sales data for the first quarter of fiscal year 2020-2021 (July to September 2020), in which the state raised more than $160 million in cannabis tax revenue and $41 million of dollars in cultivation fees. The revised data for the 2019-20 fiscal year saw an increase from $477 million to $522 million in cannabis taxes.

Growth accelerated in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic

The LAO notes that “cannabis tax revenues grew rapidly in 2018 and 2019” — and that growth “accelerated in 2020” in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. Data released separately last week by the California Department of Taxation and Administration shows that the state is on track to hit the $2020 billion barrier in cannabis tax revenue by 778. value of more than 2020 million dollars during 2020, with emphasis on the substantial increase in the third quarter of 306, which totaled more than XNUMX million dollars.

Graph relating to the volume of tax revenue derived from the sale of cannabis for recreational purposes in California, USA

This revenue is being directed towards funding programs to promote public health and economic justice for communities affected by the war on drugs. Applications for these grants were made available in September.

Illinois has seen similar increases in sales during the pandemic, with consecutive months of record cannabis revenue. the state of illinois announced last month that adult consumers purchased 1.557.880 cannabis products in October, totaling more than $75 million, an increase of $8 million compared to September's figures.

Illinois also reported reaching a cannabis tax milestone, surpassing 100 million in tax revenues. The government is also using some of the tax money to provide social equity subsidies to struggling communities.

In Massachusetts, cannabis sales have surpassed $XNUMX billion since adult use regulations went into effect just under two years ago, announced the regulators last month.