Total taxes and fees collected from the marijuana industry in Colorado topped $3 billion since the first recreational sales began in 2014, according to new data from the state.
“Colorado and like many other states has generated billions of dollars in new revenue from the legal sale of cannabis that previously used to just disappear into the underground market,” said Mason Tvert, a spokesperson for Colorado Leads, a marijuana trade group. “And now it's really important that we ensure these businesses and this industry stay afloat and thrive in this state.”
The tax revenue is earmarked for a variety of programs, including school construction, behavioral health programs, money back to cities and counties, and for regulation of the industry.
But the $3 billion milestone tax number masks a long-term downturn in the cannabis industry in Colorado. Sales are well below pre-pandemic levels. Last year, total marijuana sales, including medical and recreational, were $1.4 billion, down 37% compared to the peak year of 2021, when sales were $2.2 billion.
Sales, so far this year, are also trending down. From January to May of 2025, Coloradans have purchased $549,098,221 worth of cannabis, down 7% from the same time period a year ago.
Annual sales in Colorado haven’t been this low since 2016, according to data from the state Department of Revenue. That’s reduced annual tax and fee collections to the state by almost $50 million since 2019. Last year, the state pulled in $255 million in total taxes and fees.
A surge of demand for marijuana during the pandemic led to big investments in the industry, new companies entered the state and new grow operations were built. But not long after COVID vaccines became widespread, sales began to tumble, and now marijuana companies are suffering through their first downturn, which has lasted for years now.
Tvert said the decline in sales is not necessarily a decline in transactions. Instead, prices have fallen due to oversupply of marijuana and increased competition from the black market.
“There's still the same demand for THC products. It's just that those products cost less now,” he said .
He added that businesses are also contending with a flood of unregulated “hemp-derived” THC products that are purchased online. “Fortunately, Colorado's taken steps to roll that back,” Tvert said.
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