States have now generated more than $20 billion in adult-use marijuana tax revenue since the first markets opened a decade ago, according to a new report from a top cannabis reform advocacy group.
The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) also said that in 2023 alone, states collected over $4 billion in recreational cannabis tax revenue—the most ever generated in a single year.
That’s despite the fact that revenue in several major states such as Colorado and Nevada declined last year. But new and evolving state markets more than made up the difference, and that trend is expected to continue as additional legalization laws are implemented soon in places such as Delaware and Ohio.
“State-legal cannabis sales continue to provide significant economic benefits,” Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies at MPP, said in a press release. “With over $20 billion generated in adult-use cannabis tax revenue since the first sales began, the legal cannabis industry is providing much-needed funding for crucial services and programs in states across the country.”
“Additionally, the implementation of adult-use cannabis markets has spurred significant job growth, creating hundreds of thousands of new employment opportunities, along with thousands of new small businesses,” she said.
The report focuses on adult-use marijuana taxes and does not account for revenue generated from the sale of medical cannabis, which is now legal in 38 states.
In 2022, marijuana tax revenue was lower than the prior year for the first time, which experts attributed to a “multitude of factors,” including COVID-related policies and trends.
Here are the 2023 state-by-state totals:
• Alaska: $28,097,114
• Arizona: $257,929,322
• California: $1,082,452,368
• Colorado: $256,756,467
• Connecticut: $24,613,367
• Illinois: $552,166,729
• Maine: $35,593,347
• Maryland: approximately $29,880,000
• Massachusetts: $263,488,752
• Michigan: $473,303,560
• Missouri: $105,941,225
• Montana: $51,636,106
• Nevada: $178,135,259
• New Jersey: $45,083,223
• New Mexico: $67,440,312
• New York: approximately $21,000,000
• Rhode Island: $12,621,982
• Oregon: $148,133,667
• Washington: $532,516,060
• Vermont: $21,642,857
• Overall Total: approximately $4,188,431,717
