Recreational marijuana exceeds revenue expectations in first year of legalization

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- It’s been one year since recreational marijuana sales were legalized when voters passed Prop 207. It’s proven to be more successful than expected, at least in terms of sales.

At Phoenix’s Jars Cannabis location, sales have been sky high for the first year of legalized recreational weed on top of their existing medical marijuana patients.

“The voters voted it in, and now we see why,” said Anistas Kimina, Jars Cannabis Operations Manager.

Jars is not alone, with nearly $1.4 billion in marijuana sales in 2021, surpassing initial Prop 207 projections. Around $594 million alone in recreational sales, the first year it was legal, and medical and recreational combined brought in $217 million in tax money.

“The general fund received about $50 million of tax revenue. The fund that goes to community colleges and public health and safety programs across the state got about $105 million,” said Samual Richard, the executive director of Arizona Dispensaries Association. Arizona’s first-year recreational numbers are better than Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Nevada’s Year 1 stats.

“We were really proud that our first-year rec numbers were stronger than some of those markets that are really, really well developed,” said Richard. “And we know that most operators weren’t even up to speed until about the middle of last year, so we are really excited for what the 2022 numbers are going to look like.”