Marijuana has been key in flushing US states with cash last year as sales have boomed across the country. At least two dozen states in the country broke their own sales record.

According to a report from the Marijuana Policy Project, more than $3 billion was generated in taxes alone through the boosted sale of recreational marijuana. This amount was collected from just 11 states including Illinois, Nevada, Colorado, California and Michigan.

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The amount is higher than the $2.7 billion collected from the 10 states that allowed recreational marijuana sales in 2020, according to reports from NBC News. States like Washington, Alaska and Oregon are yet to release their sales figures of recreational marijuana for the final quarter of 2021.

States like Illinois– which have been crunched for liquid assets– have reportedly benefitted from the cash influx generated through legal and recreational marijuana. 

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Nearly doubling the $669 million of sales from 2020, Illinois recorded about $1.4 billion in revenue through recreational use of marijuana. 2021 was the first year of legal sales for Illinois, according to the state’s Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

Colorado and Washington– states that kicked off legal sales in 2014– have also seen the cash inflow through the sale of recreational marijuana multiply. 

Colorado registered an 819% increase last year, bringing in $423 million. Washington generated $480 million in 2021, marking a significant increase from the $22 million.

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So far, at least 18 states have legalised the use of recreational marijuana. These include New Mexico, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, Colorado and Washington. Meanwhile, states like Montana, Vermont and New Jersey will kick off sales this year.

Of the five states with the biggest revenues, recreational marijuana has been legal for at least eight years in two of them, according to reports from NBC News citing data from the Marijuana Policy Project.