Legal Maryland marijuana sales soar past $10 million on July 4 holiday weekend – WTOP News

Cannabis sales in Maryland exploded during the Fourth of July weekend, passing the $10 million mark, as the state entered its first weekend of legal recreational marijuana sales.

Marijuana became legal for adult recreational use across Maryland on Saturday, July 1.

Between Friday, June 30 and Sunday, July 2, the Maryland Cannabis Administration said total retail sales for medical and adult-use marijuana was $10,429,736. Saturday’s total retail sales alone for medical and adult-use marijuana was $4,518,377, with $3,558,947 of that credited to adult-use, nonmedical sales.

The state said last weekend’s sales were $6,444,209 more than the same time in 2022, when only medical marijuana was allowed.

Maryland became the first jurisdiction in the D.C. region where adults 21 and older can buy marijuana for recreational use from a legal retail market.

During the 2022 elections, 67% of Maryland voters supported the legalization of cannabis for people aged 21 and older.

Maryland has a 9% tax on recreational cannabis sales — the same rate it imposes on alcohol sales. Most of that revenue funds the state’s Cannabis Administration, while 35% is directed to communities in the state most harmed by the War on Drugs.

While recreational cannabis is legal in both D.C. and Virginia, no legal retail market has been established in either jurisdiction. In D.C., residents use an arcane “gifting” process that skirts federal law barring the city from creating a retail market.

WTOP’s Luke Garrett contributed to this report.

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