Mainers Love Pot, and the State Raked in a Ton of Taxes on Day One
Buying pot for fun became legal on Friday, October 9th, and well, Mainers bought a lot of it.
According to the Portland Press Herald, six recreational pot stores sold $94,643.38 worth of marijuana on the first day they opened. It could have been a lot more, too, because nine retail stores have licenses, but all couldn't open because there is a shortage of legally tagged, tested and taxed pot, the newspaper noted.
Stores opened from South Portland to Bangor and Maine made a cool 9,464.34 dollars in taxes in the very first day of sales, the Press Herald reported.
Since the supply isn't quite where it should be, that drove prices up, and there were limits in place. An eighth of an ounce cost between $55 and $65, according to the newspaper, but prices should come down as more stores open and more licenses are approved.
Perfect timing for recreational pot sales? Honestly, a global pandemic? Voting in a presidential election? Racial injustice and unrest? No toilet paper and limits on hand sanitizer? See? See?