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Officials: Massachusetts won’t reap pot taxes in next year

(FILES) This file photo taken on April 19, 2016 shows a marijuana plant and its buds at Alternative Solutions, local medical marijuana producer in Washington, DC. The blue associated with Democrats and the red of Republicans will blend with another color next November 8, 2016 on Election Day: the green of marijuana, as nine states vote on legalizing pot. Voters nationwide decide between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump for president, but in those states weed will also be on the ballot. California, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada will vote on legalizing possession and recreational use of marijuana, as well as regulating its cultivation, production and sale. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan SmialowskiBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images

By Associated Press

1 minute to read

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts officials aren’t expecting any quick financial windfall from the state’s new recreational marijuana law.

State Treasurer Deb Goldberg and Revenue Commissioner Michael Heffernan told lawmakers at a budget hearing on Monday not to anticipate any revenues from recreational marijuana sales or licensing in the fiscal year that starts July 1, 2017.

In fact, Goldberg says her office will initially need state funds to implement the voter-approved law.

The law is scheduled to take effect on Dec. 15 but retail sales aren’t expected until 2018.

A Cannabis Control Commission must first be established to license and regulate future pot shops.

Goldberg also renewed her criticism of the 3.75 percent excise tax the law puts on retail marijuana sales, noting it’s significantly lower than in states that previously legalized recreational marijuana.