Nevada marijuana dispensaries took in $27.1 for the first month of recreational sales while the state collected $3.68 million in taxes.
Legal recreational marijuana sales in Nevada started in July. Although there have been some bureaucratic bumps in the road, especially when it comes to shops replenishing their inventory, the market seems to be thriving.
Dispensaries generated $27.1 million in sales of recreational marijuana for July. According to the Nevada Department of Taxation, $3.68 million in tax revenue was collected by the state during the same month.
The numbers are not expected to drop anytime soon. The taxation department estimated that $120 million in recreational marijuana taxes will be taken in for the first two years of the sales.
“We came out of the gate like a shotgun,” said Matt Morgan, CEO of Reef Dispensaries according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
As more tourists and residents realize that recreational marijuana is legal, sales could increase.
“I still don’t think everyone understands that it’s recreational in Nevada yet,” Morgan said.
In addition to the tax revenues collected during the first month of recreational marijuana sales, Nevada also collected an additional $6.5 million in fees associated with licenses and applications for dispensary operators, cultivators, and transporters.
Governor Brian Sandoval seems pleased how the industry is taking shape in his state.
“Although July was not accounted for in our projections, the first month’s revenues demonstrate that the state’s structure appears to be collecting as a rate consistent with the consensus forecast,” said Mari St. Martin, spokeswoman for Gov. Brian Sandoval.
Nevada lawmakers are relying heavily on the taxes generated by the marijuana industry. Even before recreational sales started, lawmakers included projected revenues from the marijuana industry into the state budget. Nevada does not have a state income tax so funding state services rely heavily on tourism and now perhaps marijuana sales.
