Statewide sales of marijuana in Colorado are predicted to hit the $1 billion mark, according to Governor John W. Hicklooper's budget proposal for the next fiscal year.

In addition, the state expects weed sales to generate more than $100 in new tax revenues annually -- far more than analysts had predicted.

The prolific predictions come a little over two months since recreational sales officially started in the Centennial State -- and buyers were immediately met with hour-long waits at pot dispensaries.

Perhaps offering insights for other states grappling with the potential budgetary impacts of allowing marijuana sales in their boarders, recreational sales in Colorado are expected to easily top $610 during the next fiscal cycle, which begins in July.

"We went from 110,000 medical marijuana patients to four billion people in the world who are 21 and up," Michael Elliott, executive director of the Marijuana Industry Group, a Colorado trade association, was quoted in a story by the New York Times.

Hickenlooper's proposed budget anticipates approximately $134 million in taxes from recreational and medical marijuana, while setting aside $99 million for programs including substance-abuse treatment, preventing marijuana use by children and teenagers, public health and law enforcement.

"This package represents a strong yet cautious first step toward ensuring a safe and responsible regulatory environment," Mr. Hickenlooper wrote in the proposal.

Taxes were one of the major selling points of legalization.

Advocates of pot use long argued opening the market to the federally-prohibited plant could give states much more money for basic services such as school construction, health care, substance-abuse programs and public health.

The legalization measure approved overwhelmingly by Colorado voters last November, specified $40 million in tax revenue would go toward school construction. In other words, in a state where proposed tax hikes are typically rejected out of hand, voter enthusiastically supported the 25 percent tax boost tied to making recreational pot use legal.

There are some stalwart opponents and skeptical economists who suspect the anticipated marijuana windfall isn't realistic. They say they are concerned the higher costs of enforcement and regulation associated with the new market will outweigh any revenue gains.

Reuven Carlyle, a Democratic state lawmaker from Washington state, where retail pot sales are slated in June and are already expected to rake in at least $190 million in taxes over the next four years, said in the Times story that he and his legislative colleagues "have been emphatic at trying to temper expectations."

Then again, he added, "every governor and legislator in the country will be like, 'Hey, check out these numbers.' "