In Nevada, where blackjack tables and slot machines can be found in nearly every municipality, legal recreational marijuana seems to be a much-welcomed addition to a state where business and pleasure are a profitable combination.
Recreational marijuana sales in Nevada recently exceeded $126 million in October 2017, after only four months of legal recreational sales. The Nevada Department of Taxation reported that these figures are more than five times as much as Colorado’s in 2014 after four months of legal recreational sales there.
Colorado only saw about $22.5 million within the same timeframe.
In October of 2017, Nevada reported sales of $37.9 million, the highest figure of the four months. September revenues were $27 million, and August sales were $33.4 million. Records indicate that this jump from September to October is due to the fact that Henderson, a city situated close to Las Vegas, also began allowing the sale of adult-use cannabis within city limits, effectively broadening legal jurisdictions.
Here is a marginal and projected breakdown of revenue for the state of Nevada, in terms of legal recreational marijuana sales:
- A 15% tax per year generated more than $974,000, which will be used to pay state and regulatory fees. Any remaining funds will go into the Distributive School Account, which allocates per-pupil funding for the entire state.
- A 10% excise tax applicable to recreational sales only (not medical) goes into a reserve account for the state. If projections are roughly correct, this means that there could be somewhere in the neighborhood of $64 million over the next two years, provided monthly revenue remains constant.
- Sales taxes, ranging anywhere from 6.85% to 8.27%, are also levied on recreational marijuana, depending upon the county, which means that Nevada can expect upwards of $2 million in sales tax annually.
Taxes and fees, which have all been restructured to accommodate this new legislation, now stand at 15%. This lends itself to a projection of about $56 million over the initial two years of recreational sales, good news for up-and-coming entrepreneurs who anticipate a substantial “green rush” within the state.
At this rate, Nevada is poised to generate revenues upwards of $378 million per year, not including application and licensing fees, which range from $5,000 to $30,000, depending upon size. With the addition of these extras, the state can expect an even higher gain in revenue.
Of course, these initial numbers could be followed by lesser sales in upcoming months, but they still help to serve as a. And those in the Nevada cannabis industry do not seem worried that these figures will do anything but grow, even with the eventual recreational legalization that is underway in their neighbor to the west, California.
After all, Las Vegas alone is host to millions and millions of tourists each year, many of whom welcome this new legal addition to their vacation or business trip. It seems like a win-win situation, for the government, the economy, the tourists, and the residents of the state of Nevada.
