2017 POT SALES TOP $1 BILLION IN EIGHT MONTHS

Legal marijuana is a bona fide billion-dollar industry in Colorado. And it hit the mark faster than ever.

In 2017, Colorado eclipsed $1 billion in marijuana sales in eight months; in 2016, it took 10 months.

Colorado’s marijuana retailers logged upward of $1.02 billion in collective medical and recreational sales through August, according to The Cannabist’s extrapolations of state tax data released Wednesday. Year-todate sales are up 21 percent from the first eight months of 2016, when recreational and medical marijuana sales totaled $846.5 million.

This year’s cumulative sales equate to more than $162 million in taxes and fees for Colorado coffers.

The Colorado Department of Revenue’s September report is the second full month in which pot sales have been subject to a new taxing structure.

The recreational marijuana tax rate increased to 15 percent from 10 percent in July, as the result of a new law that also exempted recreational marijuana products from the 2.9 percent standard state sales tax. Medical marijuana and accessories are still subject to that 2.9 percent tax