In November 2012, Washington state voters approved Initiative 502 legalizing recreational marijuana. Part of the appeal of legalization was the potential of a new revenue source for cities.

To date, Washington has brought in over $31 million in excise tax revenue from marijuana sales, expected to reach over $362 million by 2019. Yet none of the excise tax revenue is shared with cities, and only a small portion of retail sales tax is retained by cities.

Washington state relies on local cities to enforce marijuana laws. Cities need to receive a share of the excise tax revenue to help deal with the additional impacts created by the legalization and sale of marijuana, including enforcing regulations and increased demands on our police.

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