The Washington legal recreational marijuana industry got off to a late start, and is still wracked with issues, but is getting bigger and better everyday. New projections are out about marijuana tax revenues in Washington, and they are higher than expected. Per the Huffington Post:
The most recent revenue forecast released by the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council shows that the industry is expected to bring in more than $694 million in state revenue through the middle of 2019. A previous forecast in September had that projection at about $636 million.
The latest report shows that nearly $43 million from a variety of marijuana-related taxes — including excise, sales, and business taxes — is expected to be collected through the middle of next year.
About $237 million is expected for the next two-year budget that ends mid-2017, and $415 million more is expected for the 2017-19 budget biennium.
I’m curious to see how Washington’s marijuana industry is affected by the rollout of legal recreational marijuana in Oregon. Washington sells marijuana for an astronomical price compared to what marijuana will be sold for in Oregon. I’m assuming when marijuana tourists will look at options in the Pacific Northwest, going to Oregon instead of Washington will be a no brainer considering marijuana is selling for $30 a gram in Washington, but will likely only be sold for $5 a gram in Oregon. Still, I’m encouraged by the tax numbers coming out of Washington, and hope to see projections continue to climb, and to see Oregon do the same.
