Oregon Live – by Noelle Crombie
Oregon collected $3.48 million in taxes from recreational marijuana sales in January, far outpacing estimates and offering the first look at how much pot is moving through the state’s newly regulated retail market.
The answer: a lot.
Oregon dispensaries sold at least $14 million worth of recreational marijuana in January alone. That figure doesn’t take into account medical marijuana sales, which remain untaxed.
The collections for a single month exceed state economists’ projections for the entire year. Officials expected between $2 million to $3 million after the state paid for the costs associated with regulation.
Mazen Malik, a senior economist with Oregon’s Legislative Revenue Office, called the first round of marijuana tax collections “healthy,” but cautioned that sales may fluctuate as will the tax rate. The state also hasn’t calculated the expense of regulating the new market.
“It’s something that probably says there is a high level of compliance and that consumers are choosing to go to the legal establishment and more and more of them are leaving what we term as a gray or black market,” said Malik.
The Oregon Department of Revenue released the figures Thursday, saying it collected the January taxes from 253 dispensaries between Feb. 1 and March 4.
The number of dispensaries that paid the tax is lower than the 309 registered with the Oregon Health Authority.
The Revenue Department is contacting dispensaries that didn’t make a tax payment to “make sure they are aware of the requirement to file and pay,” said spokeswoman Joy Krawczyk.
Some may have only sold medical marijuana in January even though they’re listed on the health authority’s directory as selling recreational pot, she said. The health authority regulates medical marijuana dispensaries.
Don Morse, owner of the Human Collective dispensary in Southwest Portland, said some edibles and concentrate makers registered as dispensary businesses but use the space only to store their products. Others, he said, are likely struggling financially in the state’s competitive cannabis market.
“I think there are probably people who are barely hanging on,” he said.
Oregon’s medical marijuana stores have been allowed to sell a limited amount of cannabis flowers, as well as starter marijuana plants and seeds, to anyone 21 and older since last October. The state’s temporary 25 percent tax didn’t kick in until Jan. 1.
That tax will eventually be replaced with one ranging from 17 percent to 20 percent once the Oregon Liquor Control Commission assumes control over recreational marijuana sales later this year. The Legislature set the base tax rate at 17 percent, but cities and counties may adopt ordinances that add up to 3 percent more.
Next year, the first full year of sales under the liquor commission, state economists expect recreational cannabis sales to generate $10.75 million in tax revenue after the state covers startup costs. That number is expected to climb to $62.42 million for the 2017-2019 biennium.
Dispensaries are required to file a tax return every quarter, but they must make payments each month, Krawczyk said. The monthly payment requirement stems from concerns about dispensaries keeping too much cash on hand, she said.
The agency plans to audit tax returns to ensure dispensaries are paying what they owe, Krawczyk said.
Dispensaries that don’t pay their taxes face the same penalty as other delinquent taxpayers: 5 percent of what they owe would be tacked onto their bill.
By law, dispensaries are allowed to keep 2 percent of the tax to offset the costs related to collection. The Revenue Department also keeps some to cover the cost of administering the tax. The liquor commission, too, gets some to pay for the expense of regulating the market.
After that, the law says 40 percent goes to the state’s Common School Fund, 20 percent to mental health, alcoholism and drug services, 15 percent to Oregon State Police, 10 percent for city law enforcement, 10 percent for county law enforcement and 5 percent to the Oregon Health Authority for alcohol and drug abuse prevention, early intervention and treatment services.
The 19 counties and 80 cities that have opted out of recreational marijuana sales don’t get a share of the tax revenue.
Every legal resident of Oregon should be getting a monthly accounting of where this tax money is going. It was them that voted this in. 3.4 million dollars is one hell of a lot of money.
Oooops, did I say, “it was them that voted this in?”. Well by jingles, I might have made a slip. 🙂
The new green economy. Might possibly save some of us.
From the bowels of time.
People just want to catch a buzz and be left alone.
Even Jesus was sitting around getting fkd up at the last supper drinking wine from what I hear.
They don’t call them “Spirits” for nothing.
You have to be careful though of which spirits try to possess you while drinking.
If my Dad were alive, he’d say, “Sounds like we got a bunch of pot smokers out there in Oregon!” lol 😆 Of course, he grew up infected with “Reefer Madness”.
I used to be able to twist one up with one hand. Then I discovered the bamboo bong. 🙂 I used to pour in good whiskey for the taste.
My next door neighbor grew bamboo, he never missed the 5 foot stalks that were missing on a regular basis.
Diggerdan could spin up the best lookin’ “fatty” one handed while driving. I just shook my head. You couldn’t talk him into pulling over if he was on a “mission”.
🙂
Fkn killin me Mill…
Reminds me of old times.
When I reflect back on my teenage years.
All of my best friends were dope dealers.
That was before all the gang sht and turf wars started.
It was no big deal.
Fk ..you just went over to your friends house and got stoned.
Now you have to pack an AR and have a lookout for 5.0
Man how times have changed.
Can’t get a job where they piss test unless a guy does this. A Sheriff’s Deputy told me, when they hand you the cup, go in the stall, piss in the toilet, then dip your sample cup in. It will dilute it down but still have the markers to “fool” the lab. If they do a follow up blood draw, your F’ed.
With employers, you’d have an unlimited free pass in most instances. This has been “tested” and “approved” with those I’ve advised.
You can also purchase synthetic urine online, complete with a warming pad, 100% guaranteed. Another way to thwart an unconstitutional search for forced confession.
More mammon extraction.
They didn’t get a single dollar from me for weed.
But someone did.