Alaska Nets $81,000 in Taxes for First Full Month of Legal Marijuana

Alaska’s first full month of recreational marijuana sales netted $81,000 in taxes for the state in November. That is a big jump from the partial month of October where the state collected just $10,400 in retail marijuana sales taxes. Alaska’s regulations have it setup where only cultivators pay tax.

Marijuana flower is taxed at $50 per ounce and $15 per ounce for all other parts of the marijuana plant, KTVA News reports. Some see this big jump in numbers as a positive sign for the marijuana industry in the future. Taxes will be split up to put half in the state’s general fund and the other 50-percent will help fund programs to prevent repeat incarceration and initial imprisonments with projects and aid programs.

Ken Alper, tax director of the Alaska Department of Revenue, said, “It’s a start, but it’s still not what we anticipate the long term number to be. We think it is going to grow close to a million dollars a month but it shows that the industry is starting to get their doors open and starting to make their sales.”

Sales and tax collection numbers for December should be released by the end of January.