- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of Denver and help keep the future of Westword free.
Colorado's marijuana sales are off to a slightly faster start in 2019 than they were at this time last year, according to data from the state Department of Revenue. If sales keep up the pace through December, this will be the highest-revenue year ever for the state's pot industry.
Medical and recreational pot sales combined for around $124.9 million in sales in January — nearly 6 percent higher than the same month in 2018. And this January's sales even saw a dip from the previous month, with dispensaries bringing in 7.3 percent less than in December.
Sales decreases in winter months have become common in Colorado's legal pot market; sales have dropped between December and January every year since 2014, the first year of recreational sales in Colorado. Further declines may continue until March, according to sales trends of years past.
But despite the winter freeze, Colorado is on track to outpace 2018's $1.545 billion in overall marijuana sales, with recreational pot bringing in nearly $99.2 million in January, according to the DOR. That's easily the most money collected through recreational pot sales in the first month of the year since sales began, and 11.8 percent higher than in January 2018.
Keep Westword Free... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Denver with no paywalls.
