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The Alberta government scored $30 million in cannabis taxes in the first half-year of recreational pot legalization.

Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis also took in nearly $77 million from Oct. 17, 2018, until March 31 of this year from both its online sales, for which it has a monopoly in Alberta, and through its sales to private pot retailers.

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From those purchases, it recorded a profit of $4.7 million.

That $30 million in tax cash culled from retail sales was $4 million over expectation, states the province’s fiscal year-end financial statement.

Those are levies collected by Ottawa as an excise tax, with 75 per cent of it returned to the provinces.

“Cannabis excise tax was up $4 million from Budget 2018 due to higher than expected AGLC purchases of recreational cannabis from licensed producers,” said Alberta Treasury Board and Finance in a statement.

Said the annual report from the same ministry: “The decrease in other tax revenue was slightly offset by cannabis tax revenue,” said the report, referring to slightly slumping levies from sources like tobacco, insurance and fuel.