During its opening month of recreational marijuana sales, the state of Nevada has already raked in $3.68 million worth of tax revenue, according to state officials.
The figure combines a 15 percent wholesale tax along with a 10 percent retail tax and accounts for all sales made in July, the first month of Nevada’s fiscal year. Recreational cannabis was legalized on July 1st.
The wholesale tax, which was charged to cultivators, will go towards funding for state schools. The retail tax will be set aside for the state’s ‘rainy day’ fund.
In total, Nevada dispensaries sold a total of $27.1 million worth of legal weed in its debut month. The figure almost doubles Colorado and Oregon’s opening months and is nearly seven times the amount of tax revenue Washington garnered in its first 30 days of business.
Nevada Tax Department spokeswoman Stephanie Klapstein told the Associated Press referred to the accrued revenue as “good numbers,” and believes it’s on par with the latest biennial projection of $120 million. The state expects to garner around $5 million in monthly revenue.
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval originally projected a $100 million figure over the first two fiscal years of legal marijuana, but that has since increased due to the states’ initial success.
Ironically, the state of Nevada didn’t expect any revenue in the initial month of sales, due to question marks surrounding licensing and local ordinances of the state.
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