Nevada’s cannabis sales reach $33 million in August

Nevadas+cannabis+sales+reach+%2433+million+in+August

Nevada’s dispensaries sold more than $33 million in social cannabis products in August, according to data disclosed during the Denver Marijuana Management Symposium last Friday.

The August total sales increased by 24 percent from the $27.1 million sales in July. The state collected about $4.8 million in tax revenue for medical and social sales during August, Deonne E. Cortine, executive director of the Nevada Department of Taxation, said.

“Recreational sales have been a game-changer for us,” said Andrew Jolley, owner of The+Source, that operates a dispensary in Las Vegas and one in Henderson. “Like Colorado, we saw an immediate demand from locals on July 1. Our [Las Vegas] store saw about a four-times increase in the number of costumers overnight, and it pretty much stayed that way.”

According to Jolley, the increase in social cannabis sales was attributed to the opening of more stores, increased marketing and a better-informed public. Nevada’s $33.5 million in retail sales in its second month is double the estimated $15 million in social sales made in Colorado in 2014.

Adam Orens, a founding partner of the Denver-based Marijuana Policy Group, said a significant factor in Nevada’s sales growth relates to the transfer of sales from the illegal market to the regulated market.

“Nevada, like Colorado and Washington, is entering a period where they will have very fast market growth,” Orens said. “[Nevada is] currently in a bit of a sweet spot, because California isn’t fully online yet.”

Nevada officials said they project taxes levied on wholesale and retail cannabis to reach $119.5 million in revenue throughout the next two years.