OKLAHOMA CITY — After three consecutive years of growth in medical marijuana tax receipts, the state levy collected on sales of medical marijuana products has fallen considerably.
State collections from the 7% medical marijuana excise tax generated $24.15 million in calendar year 2019, $56.24 million in CY 2020, and $66.17 million in CY 2021. However, collections dropped to $54.7 million in CY 2022 – a drop-off of $11,470,000.
The $4,364,975 collected last month marked the fourth time in seven months this year that medical marijuana tax receipts were lower than the previous month’s. The excise tax produced $30,489,571 in the first seven months of this year, compared to $33,116,018 during the same period last year, Oklahoma Tax Commission records reflect.
The number of patient licenses declined by more than 30,500 in the past year, to 352,466 as of Aug. 9, according to Porsha Riley, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority’s public relations manager. In addition, the number of active commercial licenses fell by 1,000 in just five months this year, the OMMA reported: from 12,019 business licenses in March to 11,018 in August.