June MMJ Sales Set New Record In Colorado

June was an excellent month for marijuana product sales in Colorado. In Colorado history, there has never been a month where marijuana product sales surpassed $150  million. This has happened during the COVID-19 pandemic period, and demand for both medical and recreational cannabis doesn’t seem to be easing up.

Like many states, the demand for cannabis has actually increased during the pandemic.  Colorado has both medical marijuana and an Adult-Use provision in the state. 

An Impressive 6% Increase in June Medical and Recreational Marijuana Sales in Colorado

According to the Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division, recreational marijuana consumers bought $158,102,628 worth of recreational cannabis. This was an impressive 6% increase of the past month of May recreational sales record of $149, 186, 615, as per the state data.

The recreational shops sold roughly $122.4 million in products in June. According to state data, before 2020, the monthly recreational sales had only surpassed $140 million once in August of 2019. That month, the dispensaries combined and sold $173,219,859 worth of products.

As for medical marijuana sales, they plummeted a bit in June. After setting a new record with sales of $42,989,322 in May. According to the MED’S monthly sales report, the medical dispensaries also sold $40,770,582 worth of products in the month. It is evident that the industry set a record for total business volume.  

Cannabis Sales Not Likely to Be a “Bubble” or Lose Peak Sales During the Pandemic 

By the look of things, this year might just crush 2019’s record of $1.75 billion in marijuana industry sales. By June of this year, the cannabis industry sales were $978.35 million, which is more than $817.71 million June sales of 2019. 

Denver had been affected by the coronavirus-related industry shutdowns in March. Despite that the sales this year have been higher.  According to Boulder-based industry analysis firm BDSA, the top sales can be attributed to the years of maturation in the state’s legal cannabis ecosystem. 

The capita sales in Colorado hit $290 last year, nearly double the $150 per capita recorded in 2014, the first year that recreational sales became legal in the state. Cultivators are more efficient. There are more medical and recreational cannabis dispensaries, and consumers are confidently purchasing cannabis without fear of legal reproach or social stigma for personal or therapeutic medical use. 

Increased Adult-Use Consumption

Also, the number of Colorado adults that said they had consumed cannabis in the last six months was 42% in the previous quarter of 2019. This was an increase from 24% in the third quarter of 2017. 

 “In existing adult-use states, there are three main drivers of continued growth,” BDSA’s report says. “Further proliferation of new cannabis products that appeal to new consumers’ needs and desires; improved product availability; and growing acceptance of cannabis use.”

Tax revenues are a good thing in the era of Covid-19 and increased healthcare and administrative expenditures. The Colorado Department of Revenue collected taxes of $33.62 million in June. Tax reports come first before sales reports. The $36.13 million in taxes and fees that the state reported rising in July was evidence that the month had raked in considerable amounts in cannabis sales.

According to the latest state report, the state revenue collected from cannabis businesses in 2020 has exceeded 203.3 million. The year is not over yet, but all the signs indicate that this year’s cannabis-related revenue collection will surpass the $302.5 million collected in 2019. 

Will Colorado be the 2020 leader in cannabis sales?  Many states are reporting record-breaking monthly sales.  But Colorado was the first state to legalize medical marijuana.  The state has had more practice and time to refine both the Adult-Use and medical marijuana programs.  And it shows.