Colorado Politics

Colorado legal pot industry continues to blossom, says report

Recreational pot continues to blossom in Colorado, as Denver, Pueblo, El Paso and Boulder counties continue to be the top producers of plants, according to the latest annual report issued Monday by the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division.

Nearly two-thirds of the state’s legally grown pot — a total of 436,155 pounds in 2010 — went to recreational or “adult use” pot, as its referred to in the annual report culled from the state’s seed-to-sale marijuana inventory tracking system.

When it comes to edibles, 86% of the 12.8 million pieces were sold outside the medical market.

Since legalized recreational marijuana sales began five years, pot production has nearly quadrupled and made a major shift from medical to recreational, the latest report indicates. For 2014,  the Marijuana Enforcement Division reported 109,578 pounds of medical marijuana flower and 38,660 pounds for standard retail.

In 2014, Colorado sold 4.8 million edible units.

Denver, by far, is the largest pot-producing county cultivating 579,490 pounds from nearly 1.5 million plants last year. Pueblo was second with 130,407 pounds and 284,083 plants, according to regulators.

Edible or non-edible, July is the top month for sales, the report suggests. (Check your concert calendar.) Last year, July accounted for more than 1.2 million edible units and 117,698 non-edible purchases, both slightly higher than August sales, according to the Department of Revenue.

The state issued an average of 1,316 occupational licenses each month, but only about 30% of previously issued licenses to work in the industry were renewed in 2018. Colorado saw 47 new recreational marijuana business licenses last year, which represents a 3% increase. Medical dispensaries, meanwhile, dropped by 8 percent, as 77 licenses were not renewed.

The state division reports it handled an average of 54 applications a month to change ownership.

“Data collection continues to be a priority at the MED,” Jim Burack, director of the Marijuana Enforcement Division, said in a statement. “This ongoing analysis and compilation of industry information helps inform the public and contributes to our outreach efforts to stakeholders.”

To read the full report, click here.

A marijuana plant is visible at Compassionate Care Foundation’s medical marijuana dispensary in Egg Harbor Township, N.J.
Julio Cortez / AP
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