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SEATTLE (AP) — In the year since Washington state launched its legal marijuana market, tax revenues have soared past expectations with state and local governments bringing in some $70 million.
There are now about 160 shops selling pot in Washington, with sales topping $1.4 million per day.
Washington pot farmers, processors and retailers have struggled to turn a profit, complaining that state and federal tax burdens are too heavy and competition from an unregulated medical marijuana market make it difficult to do business.
But this month they are getting some relief with two new laws taking effect. One regulates and taxes medical marijuana. The other cuts Washington's three-level excise tax on pot to a single, 37-percent tax.
While the tax revenues are a small percentage of Washington's $38 billion two-year budget, officials and legalization backers say the state's slow and deliberate effort to regulate marijuana has been a success.
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APPHOTO WAET224: FILE - In this file photo taken Jan. 13, 2015, marijuana plants sit under powerful lamps in a growing facility in Arlington, Wash. Washington launched its second-in-the-nation legal marijuana market with just a handful of stores selling high-priced pot to long lines of customers. A year later, the state has about 160 shops open, tax revenues have soared past expectations and sales top $1.4 million per day. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File) (13 Jan 2015)
<<APPHOTO WAET224 (01/13/15)££
APPHOTO WAET223: FILE -- In this file photo taken, Jan. 13, 2015, marijuana plants grow in a facility in Arlington, Wash. Washington launched its second-in-the-nation legal marijuana market with just a handful of stores selling high-priced pot to long lines of customers. A year later, the state has about 160 shops open, tax revenues have soared past expectations and sales top $1.4 million per day. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File) (13 Jan 2015)
<<APPHOTO WAET223 (01/13/15)££
APPHOTO WAET221: FILE - In this Dec. 30, 2014, file photo, Cannabis City clerk Will Bibbs, left, helps a customer looking over a display case of marijuana products at the shop in Seattle. Washington launched its second-in-the-nation legal marijuana market with just a handful of stores selling high-priced pot to long lines of customers. A year later, the state has about 160 shops open, tax revenues have soared past expectations and sales top $1.4 million per day. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File) (30 Dec 2014)
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APPHOTO WAET222: FILE - In this Dec. 30, 2014, file photo, packaged marijuana is displayed for sale at retail shop Cannabis City in Seattle. Washington launched its second-in-the-nation legal marijuana market with just a handful of stores selling high-priced pot to long lines of customers. A year later, the state has about 160 shops open, tax revenues have soared past expectations and sales top $1.4 million per day. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File) (30 Dec 2014)
<<APPHOTO WAET222 (12/30/14)££
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