Colorado's marijuana tax has brought in $2.3 million for public schools

Colorado's love of pot is its school system's greater gain.

Marijuana sales in Colorado reached a record high in January, and the sales brought in an excise tax of almost $2.35 million for public schools, The Denver Post reports.

Recreational marijuana sales were around $36.4 million, up from $14.69 million last January. And from December to January, the school tax sum increased by 21 percent, up from $1.97 million.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"This is really what we expected and hope to see: a shift in the underground market to a regulated market," legalization advocate Mason Tvert told the Post. "It's clearly generating significant revenue for the state."

Colorado dispensary owners told the Post that increased numbers of tourists have also helped sales.