Federal and provincial governments earned 186 million dollars in cannabis-related revenue in the first 5 1/2 months since pot was legalized.
Statistics Canada says governments cashed in with product-specific excise taxes and general taxes on goods and services, adding revenues from general taxes on goods and services brought in an additional 36 million at the federal level and 53 million via direct provincial general taxes on goods and services.
Ottawa scored 19 million dollars in excise taxes, while provincial governments got 79 million from excise taxes and related adjustments.
The Conference Board of Canada says due to the bumpy roll out of legalization last fall, these first-ever government tax figures are lower than expected.
The pot supply situation has improved in recent months.
Still, household spending figures for the first-quarter of this year show that most non-medical cannabis is purchased from the illegal market, at 1.1 billion, compared to 377 million bought through legal channels.
