A state economic forecaster estimates recreational marijuana sales could possibly generate more than $460 million in tax revenue for Arkansas.
Michael Pakko, Ph.D., the chief economist and state economic forecaster with the Arkansas Economic Development Institute (AEDI), told Little Rock television station KATV reporter Marine Glisovic on Wednesday the projection came after analyzing data over a series of months from nine states who have progressed from medical to recreational marijuana sales.
“We tried to project what demand would be in Arkansas, given our state’s population and income, and then just to project from there,” Pakko told Glisovic. “Once we know what the total demand is going to be, it’s a simple matter of applying tax rates to the data and estimating what the fiscal impact would be.”
“[There is] a lot of money involved in this business. We’re looking at growing to be nearly a billion dollar industry within five years and that generates revenue for taxes as well,” he added.
At least 6,400 jobs will also be projected to be created according to Responsible Growth Arkansas (RGA), the group behind the recreational marijuana ballot question.
To read the entire story from KATV, click here.
To read the AEDI report, click here.
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