Colorado pot shops have already sold $270 million of marijuana in 2016
In the first three months of 2016, Colorado pot shops sold more than $270 million in cannabis and related products, according to new figures from the state Department of Revenue.
The state’s latest data shows that its marijuana shops sold nearly $90 million of cannabis in March 2016.
The licensed stores sold more than $55 million in recreational marijuana and more than $33 million in medical cannabis in March, the latest month for which the department has released tax data for the industry. Totals for retail and medical marijuana dipped slightly in March after a bustling February, which was the state’s fifth most lucrative month for sales since they began in January 2014, according to the Cannabist’s calculations and state data.
In total, Colorado shops sold $88.9 million in marijuana and related accessories in March.
March 2016 totals for recreational pot sales are up 30 percent from March 2015, which shows that “marijuana sales remain strong,” said Christian Sederberg, an attorney for the cannabis industry. “As the regulated system continues to work, we’re also on pace to have over $40 million in excise taxes, meaning there could be additional taxes available from the excise tax to be used for something beyond the public school construction fund.”
Employees help customers at the crowded sales counter inside Medicine Man marijuana retail store, which opened as a legal recreational retail outlet in Denver on Wednesday Jan. 1, 2014. Colorado began retail marijuana sales on Jan. 1, a day some are calling “Green Wednesday.” (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)