California took in $345.2 million in tax revenue from legal cannabis during the first year of regulated sales in 2018, according to figures the state released Tuesday.
That’s just more than a third of the $1 billion in annual revenue analysts predicted California would see once the state’s regulated cannabis industry was in full gear. But it does put the state on track to hit the revenue totals Gov. Gavin Newsom forecast in his current fiscal year budget.
Marijuana tax revenues climbed substantially in the first three quarters of the year, from $60.9 million the first quarter to $80.2 million the second quarter to a revised $100.8 million in the third quarter. But revenue narrowly grew in the fourth quarter, according to figures Tuesday from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
