LAS VEGAS — The Silver State could reap more than $1 billion from marijuana production, processing and sales by 2024, according to an industry group’s economic analysis released Oct. 26.
Pot-friendly policies, strict “seed-to-sale” regulations and the prospect of doing business with some of the 45 million tourists who visit Las Vegas and Reno each year could make Nevada one of the nation’s largest marijuana marketplaces, said Andrew Jolley, president of the Nevada Dispensary Association.
He acknowledged that California, which began recreational pot sales this year, is expected to dominate the industry in size and scale.
“Nevada will be a very important market and should be a leader in regulations,” said John Restrepo, principal analyst at Las Vegas-based RCG Economics, the producer of the analysis that attempted to put dollars signs to smoke rings since legal pot sales started on July 1, 2017.
Restrepo and Jolley expanded on the report during an Oct. 26 press conference, which also featured speakers Riana Durrett, executive director of the Nevada Dispensary Association; John Ritter, board member of The Grove and NDA; and Sen. Tick Segerblom.
Speakers presented information from the report — which can be viewed here — on tax revenue, projected revenue and economic benefits through 2024, as well as employment statistics, regulatory costs, operating costs and more.
Highlights include:
• Jobs: Approximately 6,000 in marijuana facilities, approximately 8,300 in the industry will be created by 2024;
• Excise Tax Revenue: $69.8 million
• Total Economic Benefits: $989.7 million
• Taxable Sales: $539.9 million
The 33-page report was made public just weeks after state officials reported first-year taxable pot sales totaled almost $530 million, exceeding expectations by some 40 percent. Nevada received just under $70 million in tax revenues on that figure, including $27.5 million for schools and about $42.5 million for a state “rainy day” contingency fund.
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