It will take a little while until we can get a more specific number, but the Nevada Dispensary Association said it believes vendors sold approximately $3 million to $5 million worth of product on marijuana’s first legal weekend in Nevada.
“I believe we are on target for the $30 million projected in tax revenue,” wrote Riana Durrett, the executive director of the Nevada Dispensary Association.
Even on Monday, lines were still out the door at Reef Dispensaries, just west of the Strip. Some customers said they didn’t want their boss to see them at the dispensary. Others didn’t feel the need to hide in the shadows anymore.
“I’ll probably get a little bit of weed, smoke a blunt and get some edibles,” Alicia Hargis, from Missouri said. “It’s really really hard to smoke anywhere (where I’m from) without people calling the police and getting the cops involved.”
“Well it’s legal here. It’s not legal where I’m from, but I’m really enjoying it being legal here,” Tony Carter, another tourist who was visiting Las Vegas for his wedding anniversary said. “In Mississippi you just buy it on the streets!”
The CEO of Reef Dispensaries, Matt Morgan, said he thinks there were at least 1,000 people in line when recreational marijuana became officially legal. He said he thinks the recent legislation is just a start, and he hopes one day it will be treated just like alcohol, even on the Las Vegas Strip.
“The bulk of it is really going to the school systems, which are in desperate need of those tax dollars,” Morgan said. “Nevada will be a poster child for recreational cannabis. Highly regulated.”
“I’m just happy that it’s finally happened in my lifetime, because I didn’t think it would,” Carlos Dealba, who has lived in Las Vegas since 1993 said. “I thought it might happen in my kid’s lifetime, or my grandkid’s.”
“If you’re doing things wrong then to hell with you!” Carter said. “But if you work every day and you’re a productive citizen and you just smoke a little marijuana, hey. I’m with you. That’s what I do!”
Stephanie Klapstein, a spokesperson with the Nevada Department of Taxation, said she doesn’t expect to have detailed revenue figures for July until the end of Aug.
Link – Fox 5 Vegas
