Nevada is betting its chips on green.
Marijuana sales in Nevada’s newly minted legal recreational market will begin on Saturday. Starting at 12:01 a.m. July 1, adults age 21 and older will be able to buy up to an ounce of marijuana, or one-eighth of an ounce in marijuana-infused edibles and concentrates.
Retail sales will be subject to a 10% sales tax, which Nevada officials expect to generate more than $60 million in the first two years.
Last year in Colorado, one of the country’s first test markets for recreational marijuana, the market pulled in $1.3 billion in revenue and nearly $200 million in tax revenue.
“Adults will now be able to purchase marijuana similarly to how they purchase alcohol, from regulated businesses rather than criminals in the illegal market,” said Mason Tvert, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project, in a statement. “Tens of millions of visitors per year from all over the U.S. and around the world will see firsthand that regulating marijuana works.”
Legalizing marijuana was approved by about 55% of Nevada voters back in November. The Marijuana Policy Project backed that initiative, which required the state to initiate sales by 2018. The tax commission, however, adopted temporary regulations to allow sales six months early.
Nevada joins Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington in regulating legal marijuana sales, and California, Maine and Massachusetts are expected to join next year.
credit:marketwatch.com
