T<\/span>here\u2019s no uncertainty when it comes to the numbers: Nevada\u2019s adult use legalization has meant a quick infusion of revenue for the state \u2014 over $30 million in the first six months of legal sales.<\/p>\n The revenue was raised through a 15 percent wholesale and 10 percent retail tax on cannabis, more specifically, the upwards of $195 million in legal cannabis sold in the state so far.<\/p>\n These figures already greatly surpass the early sales numbers for Colorado, which most observers attribute to the much higher concentration of tourists in Nevada, particularly Las Vegas. It\u2019s also the culture of the The Las Vegas strip \u2014 the undisputed main draw for tourism. The Strip is a global mecca for hedonistic excess; a place where people go do things they normally wouldn\u2019t (or legally couldn\u2019t) do back home, which makes it a uniquely ideal place to offer cannabis tourism opportunities.<\/p>\n As would be expected this early in an undertaking as drastic as dialing in a legal and commercial framework for a previously prohibited (and still federally illegal) marketplace, there are still certain uncertainties and conflicts being ironed out; from legal battles<\/a> with liquor distributors over cannabis distribution rights, to political and cultural resistance to sales and consumption lounges<\/a> in Clark County \u2014 the actual home to most of the section of South Las Vegas Blvd known as The Strip \u2014 that keeps cannabis (officially) out of most hotels and casinos.<\/p>\n But despite all that, Nevada is seeing real positive fiscal impacts from legal cannabis, and as with most states that have legal states, a portion of that money is going towards education<\/a> \u2014 from the 15 percent wholesale tax on all adult use and medicinal cannabis.<\/p>\n However, some people advise against embracing decriminalization for economic purposes, among them,\u00a0Andrew Freedman, Colorado\u2019s first marijuana czar and currently half of the cannabis consulting firm Freedman & Koski<\/a>.<\/p>\n In an interview with Forbes, Freedman expressed his belief that \u201cpeople truly overestimate what you can do with marijuana money.\u201d<\/p>\n From Forbes<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, the debate shouldn\u2019t be about tax revenue. \u2018Should we lock up fewer people for marijuana?\u2019 vs. \u2018Is this going to create more of a burden on public safety?\u2019\u2014that\u2019s where the debate should be.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n With all due deference to Freedman\u2019s professional experience and expertise, this viewpoint downplays the often transformative local potential of cannabis revenue and validates lingering social stigmas about cannabis that spuriously connect its sale and use to crime.<\/p>\n It\u2019s true that on a statewide scale cannabis revenue hardly represents a windfall: In California \u2014 the largest legal (and illegal) cannabis market in North America \u2014 adult-use sales are projected to surpass $5 billion, meaning revenues in excess of $1 billion. It\u2019s certainly a lot of money, but more or less a drop in the bucket for a state carrying over $1 trillion<\/a> in state and local debt.<\/p>\n And while it\u2019s true that cannabis revenue isn\u2019t enough on its own to fix the underfunding of education in any state, Colorado saw $300 million in revenue go to dilapidated schools, some of which were completely razed and resurrected\u00a0 by retail revenue, as was the case in Deer Trail, Colorado.<\/p>\n From\u00a0The Denver Post<\/a>:<\/p>\n Deer Trail passed a $6.8 million bond issue in November to raise its matching funds. The vote passed by a 16-percent margin\u2026\u00a0Others that received BEST awards include the Brush School District, which got more than $60 million for a new middle school and to renovate its high school, and Del Norte, which received $45 million for a new preK-12 school.<\/em><\/p>\n And while Freedman alluded to the issue of incarceration, he glossed over the huge negative financial impact of keeping cannabis \u201ccriminals\u201d in prison. Prisons are a drain on the economy, not just because of the cost of building and running them, but because of the lost economic power<\/a> of those serving time.<\/p>\n So while cannabis decriminalization isn\u2019t a silver bullet for rejuvenating flagging civic budgets, it creates a real stream of revenue, as well as jobs and business for peripheral businesses.<\/p>\n There may be some argument about the best reasons\u00a0why\u00a0<\/em>legalization should happen nationwide, but there is not question that<\/em> it should.<\/p>\n TELL US,\u00a0<\/strong>where do you think cannabis revenue should be spent?<\/p>\n The post $30 Million and Counting: Nevada\u2019s Pot Tax Jackpot<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The Nevada adult-use cannabis market has only existed for half a year, but sales have already exceeded $195 million, netting the state over $30 million in tax revenue. There\u2019s no uncertainty when it comes to the numbers: Nevada\u2019s adult use legalization has meant a quick infusion of revenue for theContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[50,80,170,228,26],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24174"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24174"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24175,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24174\/revisions\/24175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Million and Counting: Nevada\u2019s Pot Tax Jackpot<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"