Montana’s Legalization Success Story!
South Dakota would be the 25th state in the union to fully legalize cannabis for adult-use. Given that fact, and that legalization has been around for over a decade now, we’ve seen how cannabis legalization benefits the states that end prohibition.
Montana, our neighbor to the west, legalized cannabis via initiative in 2020, with adult-use sales beginning on January 1st, 2022. Since that time, cannabis sales have generated more than $117,786,055 in tax revenue.
To break it down, Montana has funded the following through cannabis legalization & taxation:
$6,000,000 to addiction treatment and recovery services
$22,800,000 to Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks to be used solely as funding for wildlife habitat
$4,560,000 to the state park account
$4,560,000 to the trails and recreational facilities account
$4,560,000 to the non-game wildlife account
$200,000 to the veterans and surviving spouses state special revenue account
$150,000 to the board of crime control to fund crisis intervention team training
$300,000 to the Department of Justice to administer grant funding towards drug sniffing canines and training at the state and local levels
$76,870,000 to the Montana general fund
Cannabis legalization could provide a transformational amount of funding to our state. Money for treatment, schools, parks, and so much more – money that is currently flowing into the black market, while we foot the bill for overfilled prisons and county jails.
Ending prohibition works. That’s why no state that legalized marijuana has repealed it.
SOURCE: Montana Department of Revenue