Colorado Built Schools With Cannabis Tax Money. Here's What a Decade of Legalisation Looks Like

In 2014, Colorado became one of the first places on earth to legalise cannabis for adult recreational use. More than a decade on, the results are in — and they tell a story worth paying attention to.

The Numbers

Colorado generated nearly $200 million in cannabis tax and fee revenue in 2025 alone. Since legalisation, the cumulative total has surpassed $3 billion. A significant portion of that money has gone directly into the Public School Capital Construction Assistance Fund, paying for building repairs, new facilities, and infrastructure upgrades for schools across the state.

Meanwhile, Canada — which legalised nationally in 2018 — has seen its cannabis sector contribute $76.5 billion to GDP and support over 227,000 jobs by the end of 2024. Approximately 72 percent of Canadians now buy from the legal market, up from just 4 percent at legalisation. The share of consumers smoking cannabis (the most harmful method) dropped from 89 percent to 69 percent as regulated edibles, oils, and vapes became available.

Crime, Health, and the Black Market

The claim that legalisation leads to more crime has not held up. Research from institutions including CU Boulder found no explosion in crime or drug-impaired driving following Colorado's legalisation. Several studies have pointed to a decline in opioid-related deaths in states with legal cannabis, as patients use it as a safer alternative for chronic pain.

Uruguay, the first country in the world to fully legalise cannabis in 2013, offers another compelling data point. By 2024, the proportion of cannabis coming from illegal sources had fallen from 58 percent to just 6.7 percent. The average age of first use has risen. Youth uptake has not increased.

What Prohibition Actually Costs

Prohibition does not make cannabis disappear. It makes it more dangerous, more criminally controlled, and more unevenly enforced. The people most likely to face arrest and prosecution are young, working class, and from marginalised communities — not the heaviest users.

Legalisation, done properly, moves cannabis out of the shadows. It allows for quality control, age verification, harm reduction messaging, and tax revenue that can be reinvested in communities. The evidence from Colorado, Canada, and Uruguay shows it is possible to do this well. The question is when Ireland will decide to look at that evidence seriously.

Sources: Colorado Department of Revenue 2025, Health Canada 2024, Deloitte Canada Cannabis Report, CU Boulder Research, Uruguay IRCCA Statistics.