At the beginning of 2015 it was predicted that Colorado’s marijuana industry would top the one billion dollar mark. New numbers were released which included January 2015 through November 2015, and it appears that the one billion dollar estimate will be close. Through November, 2015 Colorado marijuana sales (recreational and medical combined) approached 900 million dollars. Per The Cannabist:
After taking a sharp dive in October, Colorado marijuana sales and taxes held steady in November 2015, according to new data from the state’s Department of Revenue.
While the state’s December data and year-end totals won’t be available until mid-February, Colorado’s cannabis shops are already approaching the $900 million sales mark with this week’s new November numbers.
From October to November, recreational marijuana sales increased by 4 percent to $51 million as medical cannabis sales dipped more than 5 percent to $29.6 million, according to Cannabist calculations based on the state’s tax data.
December would have to have a significant uptick in sales in order to cross the one billion dollar mark, but even if that doesn’t happen, Colorado’s marijuana industry had a stellar year. Can you name one state in the country that couldn’t use a billion dollar industry that largely came out of nowhere? I certainly can’t think of one. It will be interesting to see how Colorado’s industry numbers are once Oregon’s recreational marijuana industry is fully up and running, which is expected to be by the end of 2016. October sales in Colorado took a dip, which is also when limited recreational sales started in Oregon. There are a lot of factors involved, but I have to assume more than one person decided to vacation in the Pacific Northwest rather than Colorado for a marijuana vacation.
