Weed is legal in Colorado, and the extravaganza is in full swing. What's more, they're bringing in significant tax revenues from it. How much?
The state taxes it at a rate of 25-28%, so given 2017 sales of $1.3 billion, this means taxes brought in more than $250 million.
The first 40 million collected goes toward a public school fund, 18 million to marijuana law enforcement, and another 15 or so to various departments like agriculture and literacy programs. The rest is placed in a general fund and used for discretionary funding.
The shops themselves are literally everywhere -- even at 9600ft in Breckenridge, a popular tourist/ski town about 1.5 hours outside of Denver. Dispensaries offer an impressive array of innovative products, including chocolates, drink mixes, "wax" (high-potency resin), cookies, candies, and tablets. Your typical "street" baggie size of plant buds, 1/8oz, costs $30-50, and a chocolate bar will set you back $25.
Notably, now that it's legal, the product offering is more granular -- that is, more tailored for specific uses. For example, you can buy items that only contain Cannabidiol (CBD) and no THC. CBD is a component of weed that has very little noticeable effects above the neck (non-psychoactive). It has been found to decrease inflammation & pain, relieve anxiety and even help control psychosis, and also appears promising for treating epilepsy. One study found a 30-40% reduction in seizures for patients taking CBD. Other studies show interesting effects on facial recognition, with CBD improving people's ability to discern others' emotional states.
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/revenue/colorado-marijuana-tax-data
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/289613
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474442215003798
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4398332/
