Colorado Cannabis Sales Drop in November

Colorado cannabis sales saw a small but noticeable drop in November 2017, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue. It was the third straight month of decreasing cannabis revenue.

Medical and recreational cannabis combined for $119,567,777 in sales in November, according to DOR data, a 6.3 percent drop month-over-month from October's revenue and almost 12 percent less than September's take However, November's numbers still represented a rise of almost 9.5 percent from the same month in 2016.

Recreational sales accounted for over $87.6 million in November, the lowest-earning month for retail sales since May 2017; medical sales brought in over $31.8 million. Both saw declining numbers from the month before, though medical sales have been firmly stuck in the $31 to $37 million range, while retail sales see more variance.

Although reports of continuing declining pot revenue in Colorado coincides with California's first month of retail pot sales, the DOR data is from Colorado dispensary sales that took place over a month before California recreational dispensaries opened. Sales data from 2016 shows the same decline in cannabis revenue after July, suggesting pot sales spike in the summer.

Dispensary analytics firm BDS Analytics says tourism plays a major role in the shift in sales numbers, with revenue usually peaking in the summer months. Seven of 2016's highest-earning weekends for Colorado dispensaries fell in summer months, according to BDS, and only one came after September.

Since retail dispensaries opened for business in January 2014, legal pot has accounted for over $4.36 billion in sales revenue as of November, with nearly $1.8 billion of that coming from January to November of 2017.