FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 29, 2025

Contact: Violet Cavendish
vcavendish@mpp.org

States have generated a combined total of more than $24.7 billion in tax revenue since legal adult-use cannabis sales began

Washington, D.C. — States have generated a combined total of more than $24.7 billion in tax revenue from legal adult-use cannabis sales since the first adult-use cannabis markets launched in Colorado and Washington in 2014, according to a new report published by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). 

In 2024 alone, legalization states collectively generated more than $4.4 billion in cannabis tax revenue from adult-use sales, which is the most revenue generated by cannabis sales in a single year. Further, seven states collected over $200 million in adult-use cannabis taxes (four of those states generated over $500 million in revenue, one of which collected over $1 billion).

“At a time when federal funding cuts are putting pressure on states’ budgets, adult-use cannabis taxes are bringing billions of dollars into states’ coffers. Legal adult-use markets have also contributed to significant job growth, creating thousands of new employment and small business opportunities. While economic growth isn’t the primary reason for legalizing adult-use cannabis, it is undeniably a great benefit,” said Lauren Daly, Interim Executive Director at the Marijuana Policy Project. 

MPP’s report reviews each legalization state’s adult-use cannabis tax structure, population, and year-by-year adult-use cannabis tax revenue in chronological order, based on when state-legal cannabis sales began. These figures include cannabis excise taxes and states’ standard sales taxes that are applied to cannabis. They do not include medical cannabis tax revenue.

Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis possession for adults 21 and older. All except Virginia and D.C. have also legalized, regulated, and taxed cannabis sales. In two legalization states — Delaware and Minnesota — sales have not begun yet.

“Cannabis prohibition destroys lives by tearing apart families and creating life-altering criminal records that stand in the way of jobs, housing, and an education. Cannabis legalization dramatically reduces the number of arrests and wasted law enforcement resources, while generating billions of dollars in new revenue that can improve residents’ wellbeing,” said Karen O’Keefe, Director of State Policies at the Marijuana Policy Project.

Notably, cannabis taxes have provided funding for a variety of programs and services, such as Medicaid, education, school construction, housing, roads, early literacy, bullying prevention, behavioral health, alcohol and drug treatment, veterans’ services, conservation, job training, conviction expungement expenses, and reinvestment in communities that have been disproportionately affected by the war on cannabis, among many others. 

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Founded in 1995, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the nation’s leading cannabis policy reform organization. MPP has played a central role in passing dozens of cannabis policy reforms in states across the country, including 14 successful cannabis legalization campaigns, and also works to advance federal reforms.

Visit www.mpp.org for more information.