Nevada’s first month of retail cannabis sales almost doubled the first month sales of Colorado and Oregon as the state’s dispensaries saw $27 million in sales, compared to about $14 million in the Centennial and Beaver states, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Washington sold just $3.8 million its first month of adult-use sales.
The sales generated more than $3.6 million in tax revenues, according to Tax Department numbers outlined in the report. The revenues, derived from a 10 percent excise tax on sales and a 15 percent wholesale tax on both medical and adult-use cannabis transfers from cultivator to distributor, will be directed to the state’s rainy-day fund. The wholesale tax generated $974,060 of the state’s take.
Mari St. Martin, a spokesperson for Gov. Brian Sandoval, said the “revenues demonstrate that the state’s structure appears to be collecting as a rate consistent” with state projections – $63.5 million over the first two years – despite the fact that July sales were not included in the estimate.
Nevada also collected $6.5 million for cannabis industry license and application fees which will be used to pay administrative costs to the Department of Taxation and municipal governments for industry regulation. The remainder will be used for public education funding.