Colorado: Record-breaking pot shop sales in August 2016

By Alicia Wallace, The Cannabist Staff

The summer of 2016 turned out to be quite lucrative for Colorado’s marijuana industry.

Legal marijuana shops tallied up $126 million in medical and recreational cannabis sales in August, setting a new monthly record, according to Colorado Department of Revenue data made public Wednesday. The young industry’s previous monthly high was set just a month before, with $122.67 million of revenue in July.

At that time, economist Adam Orens, with BBC Research and the Marijuana Policy Group, attributed the sales surge to a seasonal spike:

“That’s when I think more people — Colorado residents plus tourists — people are just out and about,” he said. “There are backyard parties, it’s events of all different kinds, concerts, festivals. I believe it drives more people to consume more alcohol and marijuana.”

Last year told a similar tale. Aside from December, the biggest revenue months for marijuana were July, August and September.

New this year, however, was the implementation of a state law that increased the daily purchase limit for non-residents to one ounce from a quarter-ounce.

August 2016’s $126 million sales consisted of $84.7 million in recreational sales and $41.4 million in medical sales. In August 2015, recreational flower, edibles and concentrates totaled $59.2 million and medical sales were $41.4 million for $100.6 million in monthly revenue.

Through August, Colorado’s marijuana industry has recorded just shy of $846.5 million in sales, resulting in tax revenue of roughly $124.9 million for state funds such as educational capital construction grants and health programs. Comparatively, revenue for the first eight months of 2015 was just over $639 million, with tax revenue totaling more than $86 million, according to state data.

In all of 2014, the first year for legal adult-use sales, the industry’s sales and the resulting state tax revenue totaled $699.2 million and $76.2 million, respectively.