[[“value”:”
According to the latest Cannabis Quarterly Update from Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman, Maryland collected $22.4 million in cannabis taxes from April to June 2024, marking a 52 percent increase compared with revenue collected in Q1 of 2024. Despite this surge, local governments still receive only a tiny portion of the revenue.
Why it matters: Adult-use cannabis in Maryland carries a 9 percent sales tax, which supports several State funds. Local governments, however, receive just 5 percent of that revenue, among the lowest shares nationwide.
Key Figures: The tax revenue breakdown for Q2 2024 shows significant disparities in distribution:
$11.2 million to the state’s General Fund
$7.8 million to the Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund
$1.1 million to counties and municipalities
$1.1 million each to public health and business assistance funds
Digging Deeper: Despite local responsibilities for managing zoning, public safety, and health impacts related to cannabis businesses, local governments receive a mere 45 cents for every $100 in cannabis sales. Other states, like New York and Oregon, offer counties a fairer share through excise or sales taxes, but Maryland’s counties remain financially strained as they manage these growing responsibilities.
New tools: The Maryland Cannabis Administration launched a Medical and Adult-Use Data Dashboard. It features interactive maps, sales figures, and graphs, now updated with conditional license data to assist counties in managing zoning approvals.
Stay tuned to Conduit Street for more information.
“]] Maryland’s Cannabis Tax Revenues Surge: Big State Gains, Tiny Local Share Read More