Most striking in the January numbers reported this week is a spike in the tax stream designated specifically for schools. That excise tax brought in $2.3 million. That's more than 10 times the haul from January of 2014, when Colorado started collecting the tax.
Colorado's marijuana industry was given a tax-free period when recreational sales began to transfer their pot plants from the medical industry to the recreational industry. As a result, excise taxes for the first few months were quite low.
The excise taxes are designated specifically for school construction. The rest of the taxes have been spent on things like police training and drug education.
