Cannabis tourism is going to be a big part of the industry moving forward. There are currently only two states that allow legal recreational cannabis sales (Washington and Colorado), and people from miles around are traveling to both states to benefit from the next great American industry. A recent report out of Colorado shows that tourists make up a sizable percentage of legal recreational purchases in Colorado, especially in ski-resort areas. Per The Denver Post:
The study, released Wednesday, found that out-of-state visitors make up nearly half of recreational marijuana sales in the Denver area — and 90 percent of recreational sales in mountain resort communities.
The report had all kinds of interesting statistics relating to Colorado’s booming cannabis industry. The top 22 percent of cannabis consumers in Colorado account for over 66% of the total sales. That means that repeat customers are largely driving the industry. Annual cannabis sales in Colorado are estimated to be over 130 metric tons.Roughly 9 percent of Colorado residents consume cannabis at least once a month.
Medical cannabis sales still outpace recreational sales. Through May, there had been roughly $165 million worth of medical cannabis sales, compared to $90 million in recreational cannabis sales. I can’t wait to see what the numbers are in Washington a few months from now. Washington started allowing legal recreational cannabis sales on July 7th. The 2014 Election will likely see two more states (Alaska and Oregon) and Washington D.C. pass cannabis legalization, which will lead to even more cannabis sales in America. It’s beyond time that the entire country took a new approach.
