Consider this premise: For good or ill, the full legalization of marijuana in the United States for recreational purposes is inevitable.
How did we reach the point of inevitability? Gradually then suddenly. Colorado was the first state to allow recreational marijuana sales, beginning on Jan. 1, 2014. Officials anticipated annual sales of $200 million and tax revenue of $70 million. By 2017, sales had reached $1.5 billion and Colorado’s Department of Revenue reported tax income of $250 million from pot sales.
Other states took note of the revenue, as well as the public will, and began to get on board. At present 18 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational weed. In 2020 national sales reached $20 billion.
