Two years of legal marijuana mean revenue, but unexpected hurdles

Jim Camden The Spokesman-Review

December 7, 2014

Two years ago this weekend, pot became legal in Washington.

Only for adults, only when consumed in private and only if it was grown, processed and sold by state-licensed stores. But while some two dozen states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes under some conditions, Washington went into the vanguard, with Colorado, by saying it could be consumed legally just for the fun of it.

Legalizing recreational marijuana did not turn Washington into a statewide version of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” or “Reefer Madness.” It has not been a huge tax bonanza for state coffers, although the first five months of licensed retail sales generated about $12 million in taxes.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/dec/07/two-years-of-legal-marijuana-mean-revenue-but/