COLUMBUS, Ohio — The first five days of legal marijuana sales in Ohio brought in more than $11.5 million, the state reported.
The newly formed Ohio Division of Cannabis Control has released figures on marijuana distribution by licensed dispensaries in the Buckeye State, where recreational purchases by adults over 21 were allowed for the first time.
The stores sold 1,285 pounds of marijuana flower and over 173,000 other products, such as vaporizer cartridges and edibles.
Under Ohio law, 10% of all marijuana sales go to the tax agency, while all purchases in Ohio are subject to an additional 5.75% sales tax, with individual counties having the ability to levy even more taxes.
That adds up to more than $1.8 million in additional tax revenue for Ohio – in less than a week.
These numbers are in line with other states that have legalized recreational smoking.
Colorado, the first state to legalize marijuana, raised about $1 million in additional tax revenue in the first week of sales in 2014.
Illinois, the most populous state in the Midwest, generated sales of over $2 million in 2018. Michigan, Ohio’s northern neighbor, on the other hand, generated sales of only about $270,000 in the first week of sales in December 2019.
“What a successful opening day,” said Jamie Callender, a Republican from Ohio and longtime advocate of legalization.
Callender also happened to be the customer who purchased the first batch of legal bud in Ohio’s Lake County from Amplify Ohio Medical Dispensary.
“This is definitely a piece of history,” he told store employees while paying in a video posted on Twitter.
Ohio originally passed its recreational marijuana law through a citizen initiative in November 2023, but legal battles raged through June, and sales finally began on August 5.
Ohio is now the 23rd state in the US to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults ages 21 and older.
