Evanston aldermen tonight are expected to vote on imposing a 6 percent tax on the wholesale sale of medical marijuana.
The tax, authorized two years ago as part of the state’s medical marijuana pilot program, is imposed on the transaction between medical marijuana cultivation centers and dispensaries.
City officials estimate that wholesale marijuana sales in Evanston will total nearly $2.4 million a year and that the new tax would yield about $140,000 in annual revenue to the city.
The tax would be in addition to a 7 percent state tax on the sales.
City officials are negotiating the lease of a vacant storefront in the city’s Maple Avenue garage as the location of a medical marijuana dispensary. They say they expect the lease will be presented to aldermen for consideration on April 13 and that the dispensary is expected to open this fall.
