With no recreational marijuana sales during coronavirus pandemic and thousands more medical patients, state and municipalities to see impact on tax revenue in Massachusetts

With recreational marijuana stores closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of medical marijuana patients has increased by the thousands in Massachusetts.

Between the halt of adult-use sales since March 24 and additional medical marijuana patients who may not return to the recreational market, the state is poised to see an impact on tax collections.

Meanwhile, municipalities that are home to recreational stores and collect a local tax option are also going to see thousands of fewer dollars coming in.

“It was already trending down slightly because of the vaping ban, and then obviously since the industry is closed, we’ll be getting no revenue,” said Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz. “That’s a major one, and so I’ve been part of a group of mayors that signed onto a letter about the reopening of the cannabis industry, making sure that adult-use marijuana businesses are part of phase one of the reopening plan.”

That letter was spearheaded by Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll. NETA, one of the first recreational stores to open east of the Mississippi in 2018, is located in Northampton. [Read more at MassLive]