Recreational Marijuana sales in Ohio expected to generate hundreds of millions in revenue
The first day of recreational marijuana sales in Ohio started with long lines of enthusiastic customers, right up until closing time.
One of the key arguments for getting this passed was the tax revenue it would generate. An expert at Ohio State has crunched the numbers and estimates that these sales will bring in hundreds of millions of dollars to the state.
Jeff Riede stood in line for 12 hours to make history. He was one of the first people to buy recreational marijuana in the Buckeye State.
“Finally, finally recreational,” said Riede.
It’s an exciting moment for a lot of the advocates who have been working on this issue for a really long time,” said Jana Hrdinova with the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center at Ohio State.
Hrdinova estimated that the money coming into the state after only four years will be upward of $200 million.
“We estimated anywhere between $217 million and about $400 million a year in the 5th year of operation,” said Hrdinova.
She expects to hit that number as the industry continues to grow.
“This year is going to be a little different because we have the dual-use dispensaries coming online, and there will be another hundred dispensaries or so that will come online this year,” said Hrdinova.
Hrdinova said that money's coming from three taxes placed on all recreational marijuana sales. A state and local sales tax, as well as an additional 10% tax. She said that local governments keep the revenue from the local sales tax and get a portion of the 10% tax. The rest will go to the state's general fund, which supports a variety of programs, including substance abuse treatment.
“It's probably going to be up to the local community on how they want to spend the money, whether it’s toward public safety, schools, or infrastructure,” said Hrdinova.
Hrdinova said that means millions are staying in communities for all those projects. She said that Ohio has an edge by being the only state in the Tri-State with this program.
“The first movers get an economic advantage,” said Hrdinova.
Hrdinova also said that the amount of tax on these products is nearly identical to what's in Michigan. Last year, Michigan collected $280 million from that same 10% tax.
