In July of last year the state of Washington launched the second legal marijuana market in the USA, and it turns out it's being making a tidy profit for the government.
The sales figures have been over $260 million so far, with almost $70 million of that going to the federal government in the form of taxes, which is close to double the $36 million they had expected.
The law, which was passed in 2012, allows the public to purchase no more than one ounce of the drug, while they can alternatively buy 16oz of marijuana-infused products which come in a solid form, or 72 ounces of the products in liquid form. That might seem like a lot, but the percentage of the drug in these products is the equivalent of the original one ounce limit.
It would seem that the state government are more than pleased with the figures, and are now planning on lowering excise taxes to help the industry grow even further.
Colorado, which was the first city to legalize the drug, collected $44 million in taxes in its first year of legalization, with that expected to increase again this year, and has already seen a drop in overall crime by 10%. Washington has also seen a noticeable positive since the induction of the law, with a 98% decrease in cannabis-related crime for people aged over 21, and an 81% decrease in convictions related to the drug.
Via UNILAD
