High In The Sky: Montana Residents Bought More Than $1.5M in Cannabis On Opening Weekend of Sales

The recreational cannabis market in Montana accumulated $1.5 million in sales in its first weekend, according to the state revenue department, reported helenair.com. With a statewide 20% sales tax on recreational cannabis, that opening weekend amounts to $313,396 in tax revenue for the state. The 4% tax on the $432,617 in medical sales provided an additional $17,305 in tax revenue to the state.

“The rollout of the adult-use program went off without any issues from the department’s supported IT systems," Cannabis Control Division Administrator Kristan Barbour said in an email sent to the portal. "We were able to successfully verify with (the) industry that our licensing and seed to sales systems were working on Friday to ensure a successful launch on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022. The successful launch was a result of staff’s hard work and planning over the past six months to meet the challenges of implementing HB 701.”

In 2020, Montana officially became the 14th state to legalize adult-use cannabis, with 58% of voters saying yes to the initiative during the November election. The initiative legalized the possession and use of one ounce or less of cannabis or eight grams or less of marijuana concentrate by adults over the age of 21. 

Retail marijuana sales for adults 21 and older started in Montana on January 1, 2021.

Adults are now authorized to purchase up to one ounce of cannabis at a time. Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed a bill in March to implement legalization and then a legislative panel approved the rules for the adult-use program in December. 

Furthermore, state residents can now legally grow certain amounts of marijuana. Cannabis and cannabis-infused products will be taxed at 20% and people previously sentenced for cannabis-related felonies could ask to be resentenced or seek to have their conviction expunged.

Photo by Hans Hamann On Unsplash