It didn’t break our hearts to read in The Gazette this week that Coloradans have been buying “considerably less” legal marijuana than a year ago. We could shed only crocodile tears for the increasingly cynical industry aptly dubbed Big Marijuana.

As The Gazette reported, the latest monthly stats the Colorado Department of Revenue compiles on pot sales show statewide sales of medical and recreational marijuana fell by $53 million for the month of April compared to April 2021. That’s down 26%. Medical marijuana sales were 46% lower, year-over-year, and recreational sales were down 21%.

The Gazette’s report also noted that sales had started to ebb as early as mid-2021. Sales tax revenue, which had exceeded a million dollars per month from May 2020 to June 2021, dropped from $1,214,312 in September to $822,475 in October. Revenue since hasn’t exceeded $887,000 a month and was down to $776,534 last month.

Sure, public programs funded in part by marijuana sales tax revenue could take a hit. Some housing, mental health and homeless services budget lines could conceivably be affected in state and local government at some point.

But after taking in the ill effects of legalized recreational sales – from a dramatic spike in traffic fatalities to a surge in mental health crises among youth – we only can cheer Coloradans’ decision to spend their wages on other things.

Industry insiders pin the drop in sales on a range of factors, including spiraling inflation, which leaves consumers with fewer disposable dollars. There’s also the post-pandemic return to normal with fewer people idling at home and smoking away the hours. Pot tourism is leveling off and can be expected to continue doing so as other states legalize.

State and local pot sales taxes put a dent in sales, too, and the industry complains bitterly. Of course, those taxes aren’t much of an offset – only a down payment, really – for the collateral damage marijuana is inflicting on the state. We’d like to think that stark downside to legal pot, as well, is influencing some Colorado consumers to forgo getting high.

An analysis of 26,000 impaired-driving cases in Colorado in 2019 showed 45% of drivers tested positive for more than one substance, according to the state’s Division of Criminal Justice. The most common combination was alcohol and pot. Consider that in light of some other sobering statistics: Fatalities on Colorado roads have soared 50% since 2011, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation, and over a third of those involved drivers impaired by alcohol, drugs or both. Just since 2019, there has been a 44% increase in the number of fatalities in Colorado involving an impaired driver, according to state data.

As Luke Niforatos, executive vice president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, pointed out earlier this year on our opinion pages, marijuana use is linked to social ills like crime and mental illness. He cites a 2019 study of Colorado medical and recreational dispensaries, for example, that found both types of marijuana storefronts were associated with statistically significant increases in rates of neighborhood crime and disorder. And he notes today’s high-potency pot also contributes to psychosis, and research shows pot use beginning earlier in life can play a role in the emergence of violent behavior.

There are far healthier, safer and more socially responsible uses for Coloradans’ hard-earned dollars than to fork it over to Big Marijuana. If pot sales are down, perhaps some consumers are wising up.

Denver Gazette editorial board