August Las Vegas marijuana tax sales set new record

Marijuana displayed for sale at Acres Dispensary on Friday, April 23, 2018. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Barbara Strecker of Las Vegas checks out product with the help of budtender Brandon Hang at Planet 13, which bills itself as one of the largest dispensaries in the world, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018. The marijuana store opened its doors near the intersection of Desert Inn Road and Sammy Davis Jr. Drive K.M. Cannon Las Vegas Review-Journal @KMCannonPhoto

Eddie Medina of Seattle checks out product with Lindsay Steel, right, and Alyssa Jusino at Exhale Nevada marijuana dispensary in Las Vegas Thursday, June 28, 2018. K.M. Cannon Las Vegas Review-Journal @KMCannonPhoto

The marijuana industry set a record in monthly tax payments to the state.

Combined taxes on wholesale and recreational marijuana sales generated $8.1 million in August, beating out July’s monthly record of $7.9 million.

For August, the industry saw $42.3 million worth of taxable recreational marijuana sales, according to a statement from the state Department of Taxation — almost a 30 percent increase year over year.

Riana Durrett, executive director of the Nevada Dispensary Association industry group, said the numbers are a stark reminder that the taxes the state now collects funded a black market before legalization.

“We must remain cautious and vigilant to avoid the instability that has occurred in other states in order to protect this revenue stream for Nevada,” Durrett said. “Increasing taxes or allowing an oversupply of flower could create instability. In addition, allowing for unlicensed online retail sales like California could have major ramifications to the industry.”

While taxable recreational sales resulted in $4.2 million in taxes, the 10 percent wholesale tax paid by cultivators brought in $3.9 million in taxes.

Dispensaries and stores reported sales of $48.8 million for marijuana sold for recreational or medical purposes, plus related goods.

Nevada has received $2.9 million in marijuana-related fees, penalties and assessments this fiscal year.

The state projects $69.4 million in tax revenue from marijuana for fiscal year 2019 and $370 million in taxable retail sales. However, those projections do not factor in the actual sales from the previous fiscal year.

During the industry’s first full year of sales, Nevada dispensaries sold nearly $425 million worth of recreational marijuana and pulled in $69.8 million in tax revenue.

Contact Wade Tyler Millward at 702-383-4602 or wmillward@reviewjournal.com. Follow @wademillward on Twitter.