Vermont’s legal marijuana market generated over $66 million in revenue between January and June of this year.
(Photo credit: USA Today).
In the first half of 2024, Vermont’s licensed marijuana stores sold $66.22 million worth of marijuana and marijuana products, resulting in approximately $8.5 million in tax revenue, according to data compiled and released by the Vermont Department of Taxes.
The monthly high for the year was in May, with $11.45 million in sales generating $1.60 million in taxes. June followed with $11.14 million in sales, resulting in $1.56 million in tax revenue.”
The $66 million in total marijuana sales for the first half of 2024 is considerably higher than the $46 million sold during the first half of 2023, indicating strong upward sales trends.
Vermont legalized recreational marijuana in January 2018, becoming the first state to do so via their legislature rather than a voter-approved intiaitive. Under the law, adults aged 21 and over can possess up to one ounce of marijuana and cultivate up to two mature and four immature cannabis plants per household.
The 2018 law did not authorize commercial sales of cannabis; it focused instead on personal cultivation and possession. In 2020, the Vermont legislature passed a bill to regulate and tax the sale of recreational marijuana, which Governor Phil Scott allowed to become law without his signature. The commercial market opened in 2022, with taxes on legal marijuana including a 14% excise tax on retail sales, in addition to the state’s standard 6% sales tax.
Of the excise tax revenue, 30% is allocated to fund substance abuse prevention programs, with the remaining 70% deposited into the state’s General Fund.
