California just made public its cannabis excise taxes numbers for the first quarter of 2019.
Based on the reported figures, we can induce total adult use sales rose by 92 percent year-over-year, from $213 million in the first quarter of 2018, to $409.3 million for the first quarter of 2019.
“Most of the growth is attributed to ‘pre regulated’ inventory that was sold through in Q1 ‘18 but not taxed,†Matt Karnes, founder and managing partner of GreenWave Advisors, told Benzinga.
Since medical marijuana sales are not taxed, the state government did nor provide any stats around them on Thursday. However, GreenWave Advisors estimates medical marijuana sales to be roughly 40 percent of total sales, meaning total cannabis sales in Q1 2019 should have hit $682.2 million.
“While these results are still below the state's original expectations we believe the growth trajectory is encouraging and expect CA to ultimately reach its full potential of approximately $6.5B over the next 4 to 5 years,†Karnes added, explaining licensing procedures remain problematic in the near term.
Related Story: California Marks 1 Year Of Recreational Marijuana: How Much Cannabis Was Sold?
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