Nevada Dispensary Association has released a new economic impact report along with the Department of Taxation that shows just how well marijuana has been doing in the first year of sales.
“The industry is robust, vibrant, and successful,” NDA President Andrew Jolley said.
According to the report, there were over $500 million in recreational and medicinal marijuana sales combined in its first fiscal year. The report also showed that more than 6,000 employees work at marijuana establishments.
“The industry is growing very, very rapidly,” Jolley added. “I think we’ll be at 15,000 plus [jobs], within the next year or two.”
According to David Goldwater, a partner at Inyo Fine Cannabis Dispensary, “It has been better than expected. It shows that there is a robust demand for this product. One of the biggest surprises for me was, I thought we’d open up and we’d have a bunch of young people in their 20’s and 30’s in here buying Marijuana. That hasn’t been true. Our average age in here is north of 40.”
“The black market is still very much alive in our state,” Jolley weighed in. “We would like to see that demand for Cannabis products channeled into the regulated, legal framework, where we have high quality tested products that pay taxes and generate revenue for the state.”
According to the Department of Taxation, in the first year, legal sales generated nearly $70 million in tax revenue, with $27.5 million going to schools, and $42.5 million to the state’s rainy day fund.
“It’s been good for consumers, good for the business people, and it’s been good for the state,” said Goldwater.