Could Oregon Earn More Than $50 Million From Legal Pot Revenue?

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Kirsten Nicolaisen, GoLocalPDX Digital Producer

Photo Credit: PabloEvans via Compfight cc

Oregon could earn $54,558,596 a year from excise taxes on legal Marijuana, according to a study by NerdWallet.

On Nov. 4 Oregon citizens will cast their ballots on Measure 91, which would legalize recreational marijuana.

See Slides: 10 Western States And The Money Could They Make From Legal Pot

The study, conducted by the NerdWallet, a financial calculator and advice site, used data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to calculate the number of marijuana users 25 and over in each state in the U.S.

Nerdwallet then took the state’s users and multiplied them by the estimated value of the marijuana market in that state.

In Oregon, just over 10 percent of the population of residents 25 and over have smoked marijuana in the last month. The Beaver State's legal marijuana market, therefore, is worth about $363,723,974 a year, according to NerdWallet.

The study set each state's tax revenue potential using sales and excise tax data from Tax Foundation. NerdWallet imposed a 15 percent excise tax (a tax levied on a specific good), established in Colorado after it legalized recreational marijuana.

Oregon's revenue estimate was based solely on excise taxes, since the state has no sales tax.

The country as a whole stands to gain just over $3 billion a year in tax revenue from legal marijuana sales, the study indicated. That's more than twice the budget of the Small Business Administration in 2013, according to NerdWallet.

California could earn more than any other state from legal marijuana sales tax, at $519,287,052, which almost covers the 2013 budget for the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

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Related Slideshow: Slideshow: 10 Western States And The Money They Could Make From Legal Pot

Oregon could earn $54,558,596 a year from excise taxes on legal Marijuana, according to a study by NerdWallet. The study also determined each state's marijuana market size, population percentage 25 and over who use, and the state's percentage of the U.S. pot market. See how these other Western states compared to Oregon.