Small share of marijuana tax goes to county

The Olympian ran an article on Aug. 10, titled “Thurston chamber says cannabis industry nets about $1M a month in taxes.” It states, “Thurston County tax revenue was $800,000 in July.”

While this is an accurate statement, it is also slightly misleading. We have received many emails and calls from citizens asking how the county will be spending this significant amount of revenue. We actually receive only a very small amount of the generated tax revenue.

In 2016, the state expects to generate approximately $1 billion in tax revenue from the production, distribution and sale of marijuana. This tax revenue goes directly to the state. The state then allocates the revenue to counties, cities and towns (RCW 69.50.540). Of the $1 billion collected in 2016, Thurston County expects to receive approximately $118,000 total for the year.

The law is very clear on how we can use this revenue. The law requires us to use the revenue from the sales tax for marijuana for law enforcement activities. This means we cannot repair bridges, add road projects, fund special projects or pay for administrative costs with this revenue.

We must use it exclusively for law enforcement activities.

We hope this provides some clarification as to how much tax revenue we receive, as well as how we can use it. Thank you to the public for continuing to reach out to us and ask questions.

This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 8:58 AM with the headline "Small share of marijuana tax goes to county."