Colorado’s legal weed market: $700 million in sales last year, $1 billion by 2016

Legal marijuana was a $700 million dollar industry in Colorado last year, according to a Washington Post analysis of recently-released tax data from the state's Department of Revenue. In 2014, Colorado retailers sold $386 million of medical marijuana and $313 million for purely recreational purposes. The two segments of the market generated $63 million in tax revenue, with an additional $13 million collected in licenses and fees.

The total economic impact of the state's marijuana industry is likely greater, as these figures don't include retail sales of products related to marijuana, like pipes and bongs, and they don't account for increased tourist spending in other segments of Colorado's economy, like hotels and restaurants.

With a full year of data to work with, the state has a clearer picture of what to expect from its marijuana market going forward. Total marijuana tax revenues are now expected to climb to $94 million annually by 2016, according to the latest projections. This would equate to a $1 billion dollar retail market.The revenue figures are high enough that Colorado now finds itself in the enviable situation of having to figure out what to do with all that money. And it's catching the attention of other states, like Vermont, now considering legalization.

But Colorado's pot businesses aren't necessarily rolling in dough.

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