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Is Wisconsin losing millions in tax revenue to states where cannabis is legal?
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Yes.
Cannabis isnβt legal in Wisconsin, so residents are purchasing it in states where it is, generating tax money for those states.Β
Wisconsin borders three states with legal recreational cannabis: Michigan, which legalized it in 2018; Illinois, which legalized it in 2019; and Minnesota, which legalized it in 2023.Β
Illinois tracks cannabis sales by in-state versus out-of-state purchasers. A 2023 analysis from Wisconsinβs nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau found Illinois collected $36.1 million in tax revenue in 2022 from out-of-state residents who purchased cannabis in counties bordering Wisconsin.
About half of cannabis sales in 2022 at dispensaries in Illinois counties that border Wisconsin were to out-of-state residents, the analysis found.Β
Michigan and Minnesota do not track nonresident cannabis purchases.Β
In Michigan, marijuana tax revenue is shared with local governments and tribes, as well as the stateβs School Aid and Transportation funds.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Ballotpedia Michigan Proposal 1, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2018)
- National Public Radio Illinois Governor Signs Law Legalizing Recreational Use Of Marijuana
- Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management Cannabis law
- Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Illinois adult use cannabis monthly sales figures
- Legislative Fiscal Bureau Illinois Marijuana Tax Collections on Sales and Estimated Wisconsin Residents
- Jim Walker email Public information officer, Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management
- David Harns Email Public relations manager, Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency
- Michigan Department of Treasury Adult-Use Marijuana Distributions Based on Marijuana Revenues Collected in Fiscal Year 2025 February 2026
- Michigan Legislature Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (excerpt)
Is Wisconsin losing millions in tax revenue to states where cannabis is legal? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
