The California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) recently announced a new round of cannabis tax revenue community investments. This batch of grants for fiscal year 2023-2024, which was awarded to grantees from the California Community Reinvestment Grants program (CalCRG), went to 30 different organizations and involved a total of $46.6 million in awarded funds.
“The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth, economic development and business assistance efforts.” the GO-Biz website states.
“Existing law establishes the California Cannabis Tax Fund as a continuously appropriated special fund consisting of specified taxes, interest, penalties, and other amounts related to commercial cannabis activity.” states CalMatters regarding the California Cannabis Tax Fund.
California first legalized cannabis for adult-use during the 2016 election and the Golden State was the first state to ever adopt a medical cannabis legalization measure back in 1996. The United States adult-use cannabis industry has generated over $20 billion in total tax revenue since the first legal recreational cannabis purchase was made in Colorado on January 1st, 2014 according to a recent report by the Marijuana Policy Project.
“Through the first quarter of 2024, states have reported a combined total of more than $20 billion in tax revenue from legal, adult-use cannabis sales. In 2023 alone, legalization states generated more than $4 billion in cannabis tax revenue from adult-use sales, which is the most revenue generated by cannabis sales in a single year.” the Marijuana Policy Project stated in a press release.
Total legal cannabis sales in the United States are expected to reach $31.4 billion in 2024 according to a recent analysis by Whitney Economics. Additionally, leading cannabis jobs platform Vangst, in conjunction with Whitney Economics, estimates that the legal cannabis industry now supports 440,445 full time-equivalent cannabis jobs in the United States.
Whitney Economics also projects the following legal cannabis sales figures in the United States for the coming years:
- 2024: $31.4 billion (9.1% growth from 2023)
- 2025: $35.2 billion (12.1% growth from 2024)
- 2030: $67.2 billion
- 2035: $87.0 billion
The emerging legal cannabis industry in the United States is projected to add roughly $112 billion to the nation’s economy in 2024 according to a newly released analysis by MJBiz Daily. The projection is part of the company’s 2024 MJBiz Factbook.
“The total U.S. economic impact generated by regulated marijuana sales could top $112.4 billion in 2024, about 12% more than last year,” MJBiz stated in its initial reporting.