City Of Marysville Seeing Big Revenue Increase From Marijuana Taxes
MARYSVILLE (CBS13) - State and local numbers reflect a growing number of people smoking marijuana. As people are getting high, so too are cities' tax revenue from sales.
In Marysville, Perfect Union and Wild Seed are the only dispensaries in town. They both opened back in 2019, and since then, business has been booming.
"Most of the time when you do go there, they are pretty packed," said Marysville resident Tim Slatton
But it's not just Marysville dispensaries profiting from pot, the city is also raking in the green.
"We have revenue coming in through Measure F, which is our sales tax measure for cannabis specifically," said Marysville city manager, Jim Schaad.
He explains that, only halfway through the fiscal year, the city's sales tax revenue from THC has doubled their expectations.
"We were expecting to be at $400,000. We're projecting around $780,000 this year. It's a good shot in the arm for the city's revenue streams," said Schaad.
He says the city has struggled during the pandemic.
"With COVID-19 and expecting lower revenues, it's really helped keep us afloat during these times," he said.
The spike in sales isn't specific to Marysville. In the last quarter of 2019, the state of California raked in more than $86 million in revenue
In the last quarter of 2020, four months into the pandemic, the state collected more than $123 million. That's a 42% increase in revenue from taxes on THC.
"People are probably smoking more marijuana to calm their nerves and relax a little bit," said Marysville local Kelcie Sill.
We asked Schaad if he's convinced dispensaries are good Marysville.
"You have to weigh the pros and cons. The jury is still out on how beneficial it is versus perhaps some of the downsides to it," he said.
The additional revenue will go into the city's general fund and be used to improve public facilities and hire police officers and firefighters.