In this Jan. 1, 2018 file photo, a customer purchases marijuana at Harborside marijuana dispensary in Oakland, Calif. California's marijuana industry has been living off borrowed time _ most sales being made in the state's new legal market involve cannabis stockpiled by retailers last year. The transition to new weed is coming with an array of rules and testing and questions about whether it will get to store shelves. (Mathew Sumner, Associated Press)

Marijuana sales in Alaska drop for second month in a row

JUNEAU, Alaska — Marijuana tax revenue in Alaska fell for the second straight month in December, though a state tax auditor says the slide may be short lived.

The state says it collected about $784,000 in marijuana tax revenue in December.

That compares to about $869,000 in November and about $920,000 in October, which is the most that has been collected in a single month since the collection of marijuana taxes from state-licensed businesses began in October 2016.

The tax is imposed when marijuana is sold or transferred from a marijuana cultivation facility to a retail pot shop or marijuana product manufacturing facility.

Tax auditor Dustin Heintzelman says preliminary reports indicate tax revenue for January will be around $1 million. He declined to speculate on why revenue tumbled in November and December.