CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md. (DC News Now) — Hope Wiseman is a young trailblazer within the world of cannabis.

She owns Mary and Main, a marijuana dispensary in Prince George’s County, a business she started at 25-years-old, more than five years ago.

One month after recreational cannabis use for adults was legalized in Maryland, marijuana users spent more than $87 million on cannabis products. A portion of the tax dollars went back into minority communities that were targeted with drug use arrests, according to state officials.

This is pleasing to Wiseman, she said, that some of the 9% state sales tax goes into communities still reeling from over policing on drugs like marijuana.

“I’m really proud of Maryland for focusing on where the tax revenue would go,” Wiseman said. “Now that cannabis is becoming legal, I wanted to make sure that the communities that were most harmed received the most benefit from it.”

Cannabis industry experts and owners in Maryland said they are not surprised by the large spending in the state and expect that number to continue to grow. When the number grows, tax dollars into the communities grows as well.

This is something Michael Hendricks, a relatively new cannabis user in Prince George’s County, said he did not know about. He said he’s happy to hear the funds are being re-invested into communities hit hard by the war on drugs.

“It’s a great thing, the 9% tax is going back into the community to help the community because it’s been torn down with multiple drugs, not only just cannabis,” he said. “Now that you can put the money back into the community to help the people out, you’re always going to gain support.”

Cannabis business owners like Wendy Bronfein, the co-founder of Curio Wellness in Maryland, sees more growth potential for the state beyond the $87 million spent in July. With that comes more community benefits and also money going back to help fund more cannabis businesses.

“There’s dollars that are giving back to the community and then all of the outlined money that comes from the tax revenue, anything left goes into the general fund,” Bronfein said.

Wiseman said there are states that have experienced financial windfalls because of reasonably taxing cannabis, and Maryland can be in that same conversation.

“The average taxpayer in Maryland is benefitting from cannabis legalization at the end of the day,” she said. “Even if you don’t like cannabis and you still are a little weary of it, you can know that the money that is being generated by legalization is improving your community that you live in.”