Industry

Nevada Starts Strong With $27 Million in First Month Sales

Published on September 29, 2017 · Last updated July 28, 2020
A cashier rings up a marijuana sale at the Essence cannabis dispensary, Saturday, July 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. Nevada dispensaries were legally allowed to sell recreational marijuana starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Look out, Washington and Colorado: There may be a new American cannabis king. New data released by the Nevada Department of Taxation indicates that Nevada more than doubled both Colorado and Washington’s first month of adult-use cannabis sales.

Nevada recorded just over $27 million in cannabis sales in July, the state’s first month of business, which generated $3.68 million in tax revenue.

The Department of Taxation also reported that license and application fees paid by cannabis businesses have, to date, generated $6.5 million in state revenue.

That revenue, along with a 15% excise tax on wholesale cannabis sales, goes to public schools, after administrative costs are taken out.

The state also realized $2.71 million from a 10% retail cannabis tax. That revenue goes into a “rainy day fund” which is expected to generate around $63.5 million in the next two years.

Washington State’s first month and a half of cannabis sales totaled just under $3.5 million dollars, due to restricted supply. The state didn’t hit at least $27 million in a single month until the 10th month of recreational cannabis sales.

Colorado recorded $14,368,620 in its first month of adult-use cannabis sales back in January 2014.

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Gage Peake
Gage Peake
Gage Peake is a former staff writer for Leafly, where he specialized in data journalism, sports, and breaking news coverage. He's a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Journalism and Mass Communications.
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