Report Shows Use Of Marijuana Tax Revenue To Fund Public Services In Denver

DENVER, CO – A new report released in Colorado examines the use of tax revenues from the sales of marijuana to support public services, according to KDVR.

When Colorado voters approved the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2014, the measure also created the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund that would distribute tax revenue from the marijuana industry to provide funding to various state departments.

Those revenues have amounted to nearly $500 million over the past decade, including $48.1 million in 2023.

Denver’s Department of Excise and Licenses released a report this week detailing the allocation of the marijuana tax revenue to public services in the city under the 2024 budget.

Those totals include:

-$7.95 million is being spent on homelessness services
-$7.53 million on affordable housing
-$3.73 million contributed to the Herman Malone Fund, a program expanding access to venture capital for diverse startups
-$3.32 million  on youth education programs

The money spent on homelessness services incudes land acquisitions, unit development, housing assistance and supportive housing services. Since 2018, when the tax revenue was increased and allocated to affordable housing, marijuana tax has generated more than $45.5 million for Denver’s Affordable Housing Fund.

The report also found that marijuana-related crime only made up 0.2% of total crime in the city in 2023.  Seizures of illicit marijuana by law enforcement dropped from 2,435 pounds in 2023 to 266 pounds in 2023.

“We created the plan that was implemented by many other cities across America, and one of the reasons why our plan has been copied by so many other cities is because we successfully prevented that prediction that crime would skyrocket,” said Denver Excise and Licenses spokesperson Eric Escudero.

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