Colorado Dispensaries Sold More Pot in 2019 Than We Predicted

Last year was another record-breaker.

February 17, 2020

Scott Lentz

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Colorado marijuana dispensaries sold even more weed in 2019 than we predicted they would in 2019, according to recently released sales figures from the state Department of Revenue.

When last year's overall tax-revenue figure from marijuana sales was released in January (it totaled over $302 million), we took previous sales reports and DOR tax data to conservatively predict that Colorado pot shops sold approximately $1.72 billion worth of pot products in 2019. Looks like we undershot that figure, though, because current DOR numbers show that dispensaries hauled in over $1.74 billion last year — around $30 million more than we anticipated.

Why the bigger numbers? December, the final month of sales figures to be released, accounted for nearly $144 million in dispensary sales. Based on previous years and tax revenue reports, we thought that number would be closer to $120 million.

The final 2019 numbers easily beat all previous years since recreational pot sales began in Colorado in January 2014, beating the previous record (2018's approximately $1.55 billion in sales) by over $200 million. To date, Colorado pot shops have accounted for nearly $7.79 billion in sales, according to the DOR.

Thomas Mitchell has been the news editor of Westword since February 2024. He's been with the publication since 2017 and was formerly its cannabis editor. He’s earned numerous awards and accolades for his work, including placing second for the Marijuana Enterprise Reporting Award from the Colorado Society of Professional Journalists in 2018; being named a Top Cannabis Journalist by Leafbuyer in 2020; and placing first for the College Sports Writing Award from the Arizona Press Club in 2014. His prior work experience includes Arizona Republic, Inman News and Fox Sports.

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