OTTAWA — A new analysis says governments can wrestle recreational-pot proceeds away from criminals as long as they don't expect an early revenue windfall from legalized weed, either.

The study, to be released Tuesday by the C.D. Howe Institute think tank, estimates legalized cannabis would generate about $675 million in 2018 in combined revenue for federal and provincial coffers through existing sales taxes.

However, the report also says if authorities wait to raise even more cash through additional taxes, they risk undermining their stated priority of squeezing out the black market.