New York is ready to reach new heights from 2023 – thanks to legalized pot.
The state plans to reap more than $ 1.25 billion in new revenue from legal marijuana sales over the next six years, according to the 2023 financial plan. unveiled Tuesday by Governor Kathy Hochul.
First-year spending is relatively low at $ 56 million, with most of the money – $ 40 million – coming from licensing fees paid by growers and sellers, based on figures in the briefing book on Hochul’s proposed $ 216.3 billion budget.
These fees are expected to begin rolling in later this year, and store-front sales of recreational marijuana are likely to begin next year, State Budget Director Robert Mujica said during an afternoon briefing in Albany.
Once business begins to boom, projections show that the state will raise rapidly rising revenues, reaching $ 363 million in fiscal year 2028.
Leisure marijuana var legalized as part of last year’s budget process and Hochul made the budding industry a high priority when she succeeded former governor Andrew Cuomo after his termination due to a sexual harassment scandal last year.
Cannabis products will be taxed by the state on the amount of THC – the chemical compound that causes people to become stoned – they contain, according to the budget briefing book, which does not specify this rate.
The state will also charge a 9 percent excise tax, and local authorities will charge a 4 percent excise tax in addition to state and local sales taxes.
Forty percent of state revenue will go to education, with a further 40 percent earmarked for a new “Community Grants Reinvestment Fund” and the remaining 20 percent to drug treatment programs.
The State Office of Cannabis Management will seek to award half of the state’s licenses to “social and economic applicants,” including minority and women-owned businesses, struggling farmers, ex-cons and disabled military veterans, according to the budget briefing book.
.
