ST. LOUIS, Missouri () -- The push to legalize recreational marijuana in Missouri pushes forwards as two bills in Jefferson City aim to legalize it sooner.
One bill to legalize the personal use of marijuana for adults passed Wednesday but it needs to make it through another committee before it could get to the house floor. The second bill would get rid of the state’s personal property tax in exchange for the taxes marijuana brings in.
St. Charles County Republican Representative Nick Schroer tweeted that he filed this amendment less than 24 hours ago for tax relief for Missourians. The state tax commission says personal property taxes in Missouri add up to about $1.4 billion which is nearly equal to the number of recreational marijuana sales in Illinois last year.
When it comes to taxes, Illinois brought in more than $380 million. News 4 looked up revenue for other states with legal recreational marijuana and learned Colorado earned more than $420 million last year.
Diving deeper into budget projections for Missouri, state officials say if the Show-Me State sold both medical and recreational marijuana - sales could be almost 580 million by next year. The state budget office estimates that tax revenue could be just more than $36 million.
The session ends next Friday.