The booming cannabis industry has already managed to outgrow the alcohol sector, at least when it comes to collecting tax revenue in some of the states.

New data has revealed that Massachusetts brought in $74.2 million from marijuana taxes, compared to $51.3 million from alcohol in half of the fiscal year reported Marijuana Moment. Since the Bay State commenced its legal cannabis program in Nov. 2018, it has seen a total of $2.54 billion in sales, surpassing the $2 billion figure in September.

Illinois is another state where liquor sales brought in fewer tax dollars than marijuana. In 2021, recreational cannabis taxes exceeded alcohol taxes by nearly $100 million, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue, which confirmed that weed taxes outpaced alcohol for the first time in February and kept that pace for the whole year. Illinois legalized the sale of medical cannabis in 2015 and recreational marijuana in 2020.

Marijuana Policy Project recently revealed that states with legal pot have collectively seen more than $10 billion in cannabis tax revenue since the first licensed sales began in 2014.

Why is this important?

Because lawmakers in most of the states with recreational cannabis programs have made sure that tax dollars are being used to support important organizations and services. For example, Illinois is using its cannabis tax money to help fund mental health services, disadvantaged communities and organizations that work on minimizing violence.

In California, around $29 million was given to 58 nonprofit organizations, while Colorado's $500 million marijuana tax revenue was put toward helping the public school system.

Photo: Courtesy of Cameron Venti on Unsplash