Marijuana legalisation in Colorado after one year of retail sales and two years of decriminalisation

All eyes are on Colorado to gauge the impact of the country’s first-ever state law to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana to adults 21 and older. Since the first retail marijuana stores opened on January 1, 2014, the state has benefitted from a decrease in crime rates, a decrease in traffic fatalities, an increase in tax revenue and economic output from retail marijuana sales, and an increase in jobs.

According to the state’s department of revenue, the first ten months of legal marijuana sales have resulted in nearly $40 million in tax revenue. The city of Denver saw a decrease in violent crime rates in the first 11 months of 2014, following a similar trend in 2013. Statewide traffic fatalities continue to decline, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Upwards of $8 million has been allocated to fund youth education and drug prevention efforts. And the state is experiencing economic growth and the lowest unemployment rate in years. Some of the benefits can be summarised in the following sections:

• Arrests and Judicial Savings
• Decrease in Crime Rates
• Tax Revenue
• Decrease in Traffic Fatalities
• Economic Benefits
• Youth Prevention Efforts

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