OKLAHOMA CITY – Medical marijuana sales in Oklahoma set a record in April for the second consecutive month.
The 7% state tax on purchases of medical marijuana products generated $6,235,994 in tax receipts last month, a nearly 45% increase from April 2020.
The $6.23 million in MMJ tax collections, coupled with the $7.75 million in state and local sales taxes collected on MMJ purchases, produced a combined total of $13.99 million in tax receipts last month.
The MMJ taxes represented $89,085,640 in sales – an average of almost $242 for each of the 368,218 individuals with active patient licenses authorizing them to buy MMJ products. The 7% MMJ levy has produced more than $103 million in two and a half years, Oklahoma Tax Commission ledgers reflect.
The state Medical Marijuana Authority listed more than 11,400 active MMJ business licenses as of May 3. Those included 7,635 growers, 2,252 dispensaries, 1,410 processors, 83 transporters, 24 labs, two research facilities and one education facility, and 10 waste disposal facilities, including one in Duncan.
State Question 788, which voters across the state endorsed in 2018 to legalize medical marijuana use in Oklahoma, decrees that 75% of any surplus tax revenue from medical marijuana sales will be routed to the state’s General Revenue Fund and may be spent only for common education. The remaining 25% is earmarked for state Health Department drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs.
“Surplus” means any tax proceeds that exceed the agency’s operational budget. Terri Watkins, the Medical Marijuana Authority public information officer, said the Authority’s operating budget last year was approximately $25 million.