3 Months Since Legalizing Marijuana, Here’s What Colorado Looks Like

It seems like a lot longer than three months since the State of Colorado decided to allow legal cannabis consumption. One of the selling points of the legalization was a new revenue stream for the state. And it seems like that has been the case. Three months in there is a ton of money flowing into Colorado's coffers from pot sales. "The state's Department of Revenue reports that marijuana retailers sold nearly $19 million in recreational weed in March, up from $14 million in February. The first three months of legal weed have netted about $7.3 million in taxes, not including medical marijuana sales taxes and licenses, which bring the number to $12.6 million. In it's first few months, Colorado could already soon be outpacing those historic on a daily basis." Not just for Colorado but for the nation at large it seems cannabis has become a cash crop. Legal cannabis sales in the United States are projected to reach as high as $2.57 billion this year, split among the 21 states that allow the sale of some form of marijuana. There were those in Colorado who said crime would go up. It seems that it hasn't. "(Un)intended consequences: Over the same time period, crime in Denver has slightly declined, making opponents who said it would result in more trafficking seem kind of silly. It's created a modest number of jobs ranging from "budtending" and marijuana journalism to farm labor and ownership. (Weedmaps, a dispensary review site, grossed   some $25 million in revenue in 2013.) And the state has even created a banking system that complies with the U.S. treasury system's guidelines, clearing up the last regulatory questions. While certain parts of the rollout, like edible cannabis regulations, have come under question, the law seems to be operating basically as intended." http://www.policymic.com/articles/89165/3-months-since-legalizing-marijuana-here-s-what-colorado-looks-like

So for Colorado legal cannabis has been a "budding" success.