Oklahoma cannabis industry smashes record monthly sales number in April

Roll aside, toilet paper.

Oklahomans rushed to purchase another product in record volume last month, as medical marijuana dispensaries logged enough sales to spike tax collections by more than 25%.

According to the Oklahoma Tax Commission, dispensaries remitted almost $9.8 million in state taxes during April. That includes traditional sales taxes and the 7% medical marijuana levy.

The tally smashes the previous record of $7.8 million set in March, and is the highest month-to-month increase since last summer.

An analysis of tax collections shows Oklahomans spent about $61.4 million on medical marijuana last month, or nearly $217 per licensed patient.

April tax collections began just a week after Gov. Kevin Stitt issued his “Safer at Home” directive that shuttered many nonessential businesses and sent Oklahomans home from work. Stitt included marijuana dispensaries as an essential industry, however, allowing them to remain open.

“With the stay-home order in place, and medical marijuana dispensaries being categorized as essential health services, Oklahoma patients were afforded the ability to take their medicine on a more regular basis and sample a broader range of available medicines,” said Bud Scott, executive director of the Oklahoma Cannabis Industry Association. [Read more at The Oklahoman]