ROCKVILLE, Md. — In the first three months that recreational cannabis was legalized in Maryland, customers paid more than $12 million in taxes to the state government. That's according to a recently released report, which puts the state on a pace to exceed lawmakers' predictions.
Maryland officials forecasted that the industry would bring in $36 million in tax revenue per year, but if the current rate continues, the state may collect $48 million dollars by July 2024.
Dispensaries like Peak ReLeaf say that nearly seven months into recreational marijuana sales, demand is not slowing down. "There wasn't this big pop in curiosity," Warren Lemley who owns the Rockville cannabis business told WUSA9. "I think we have seen people come in, try the product, try the experience, they've seen something beneficial, and they've just continued to come back," he added.
Lemley says the business has remained so consistent that he plans to expand his current location to accommodate clients seeking products for both medical and recreational use. "We are going to have the new side for adult-use customers. We are going to have 12 additional registers to service all the customers we need," he said.
Between July through September, the 9% sales tax on cannabis products racked in more than $3 million from the 26 dispensaries in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties.
However, the Maryland Comptroller's report indicates that Central Maryland was the hotspot for the most cannabis sales in the state during the three month period. The area includes Anne Arundel, Harford, Baltimore, Carroll, Howard, and Queen Anne's counties.
Maryland's Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman says half of first batch of the tax collections will be set aside for the state's general fund which will amount to more than $6 million.
Another 35% of the funds, $4.25 million, will be contributed to the Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund which will pay for programs that will help communities impacted by the war on drugs.
County and city governments will get nearly $608,000, or 5% of the funds.
The Cannabis Public Health Fund which was created to address the health effects of marijuana use will get another 5%, which accounts to nearly $608,000.
Another 5% of the funds will be used to help small and minority-owned businesses get into the booming cannabis industry in Maryland.
As the industry continues growing, Lemley says he hopes to see changes that will place products at a more accessible price range. "I want to see more growers, more processors come online. I am even happy to see some dispensaries, more dispensaries come online and serve some of the underserved areas in Maryland."
With Maryland's legislative session less than a month away, some state legislators have hinted at potential modifications to the cannabis law but have provided little detail about what those could be.
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