Nevada’s cannabis sales took a minor dip in fiscal 2022, but the state’s licensed industry still generated more than $152 million in wholesale and retail excise taxes, most of which will go into the State Education Fund (SEF).

Overall, adult-use and medical cannabis dispensaries combined to ring in more than $965 million in taxable sales for the 12-month period ending June 30, the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) and state Department of Taxation announced Sept. 30. That statewide total represents a 3.8% decrease from the $1-plus billion in sales from fiscal 2021.

In large thanks to the tourism appeal in Las Vegas, Clark County accounted for $754 million in cannabis sales for fiscal 2022, representing more than 78% of the total sales for the state. The city’s forthcoming cannabis lounge industry will only grow that appeal, with CCB officials set to open a two-week licensing window for lounges on Oct. 14.

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Of fiscal 2022 tax revenue, the entirety of the $89.3 million generated from the 10% cannabis excise tax on adult-use retail sales will go into the SEF school funding, a directive that came from Senate Bill 545, which Gov. Steve Sisolak signed into law in 2019. Previously, that revenue went toward the state’s rainy day fund.

Another roughly $58 million of industry revenue from fiscal 2022 also will go into the school funding. That revenue is from the $63 million generated from the state’s 15% cannabis excise tax on wholesale (both adult-use and medical), along with civil penalties, licensing and other fees collected through the regulated industry. The remaining $5-plus million went toward operating costs for the CCB.

In the five fiscal years since Nevada launched adult-use sales on July 1, 2017, the state’s adult-use and medical cannabis retail markets have recorded a combined $3.8 billion in sales.

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