South Euclid: When and how recreational marijuana tax revenue distribution will happen is unclear

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio — Attached to the City of South Euclid City Council's Tuesday night meeting is a memo saying the state has not said when or how adult-use cannabis tax revenue will be distributed.

Recreational marijuana hit the shelves of authorized dispensaries in August.

Since then, adult-use cannabis sales have skyrocketed – collecting more than $155 million as of November 12 .

Amid state and local taxes imposed on marijuana, there is an additional 10% tax levied on purchases solely because it's recreational.

There are more than 100 marijuana dispensaries licensed to sell adult use in Ohio. Of that, South Euclid is only home to one: Certified Dispensary on Cedar Road.

"It's our understanding that we will receive approximately 10% of the sales from that dispensary, but we have not heard from the state about their plan to distribute the funds yet," The City of South Euclid Director of Community Services, Keith Benjamin, said.

South Euclid's Finance Director estimates the city has made an extra $100,000 from adult-use cannabis this year.

"It will go to public services and public safety," Benjamin stated. "The cost to provide services, especially police, fire, EMS, and other services continue to rise every year. It's always good when we can raise some additional funds and have some additional revenue."

Benjamin called that $100,000 estimation the best guess as the city works to finalize its 2025 revenue budget in the next few weeks.

"This is something that's new, not only to us at the city. It's also new to the state of Ohio as well. It's the first time we've all gone through this. I think we all expect some bumps in the road as we move forward and implement something new. I think we'll be okay for 2025 for the short term. But certainly, as we move forward in future years, it would be nice to know exactly how the process is going to work," Benjamin explained.

Benjamin said city council is hopeful it will know the number of recreational marijuana sales the Certified Dispensary has made this year soon so it can be prepared for the finalization of the budget.

I reached out to the Ohio Department of Taxation as well as the Ohio Department of Budget and Management for more information. As soon as updates are provided, it will be added here.