COLUMBUS, Ohio — The first five days of legal weed sales in Ohio generated more than $11.5 million, the state has reported.
The newly formed Ohio Division of Cannabis Control released the figures for marijuana distribution by licensed dispensaries within the Buckeye State, where recreational purchases by adults over 21 were allowed for the first time.
Stores sold 1,285 pounds of marijuana flower and more than 173,000 other products, such as vaporizer cartridges and edibles.
Under Ohio law, 10% of all marijuana sales go to the Department of Taxation, while a 5.75% charge is also added to all Ohio purchases as sales tax, with individual counties having the option to add even more.
That adds up to more than $1.8 million in new tax revenue for Ohio — in less than a week.
These numbers are on trend with other states who have made recreational puffing legal.
Colorado, the first state to legalize, scored about $1 million in new tax revenue during its first week of sales back in 2014.
Illinois, the largest state in the Midwest by population, raked in more than $2 million in 2018; while Michigan — Ohio’s neighbor to the north — only saw about $270,000 during their first week of sales in December, 2019.
State Rep. @JamieCallender, the marijuana-enthusiast Republican who I’ve been covering throughout the legalization process, was the VERY first sale.He got @WilliesReserve, grown in Eastlake, Ohio.@WEWS @scrippsnews @WCPO @OhioCapJournal pic.twitter.com/aSe2Hs9uKz
— Morgan Trau (@MorganTrau) August 6, 2024
“What a successful opening day,” said Jamie Callender, Republican Ohio state rep and longtime legalization advocate.
Callender also happened to be the customer who purchased the first batch of legal flower in Ohio’s Lake County, at Amplify Ohio Medical Dispensary.
“This is definitely a piece of history,” he told store employees upon checking out in a video posted to Twitter.
Ohio initially passed its recreational marijuana law by citizen initiative in November 2023, but faced issues in the courts until June, with sales finally commencing on Aug. 5.
Ohio is now the 23rd state in the US to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults 21 and up.
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