The state of Colorado has now pocketed more than $1 billion in revenue from the legal cannabis industry. This marks yet another milestone for the state which legalized marijuana in 2014.
According to marijuana sales data which has just been released by the state, cannabis sales hit the $6.5 billion mark at the end of May this year. The data also shows that the sales of recreational marijuana are continuing to rise higher as the months roll by.
April and May 2019 have also been the best months so far in the entire history of the cannabis industry in Colorado with the monthly state revenue reaching the highest level ever at $24.2 million in April. The state took approximately three and a half years to reach cannabis sales totaling $500 million, but the state was able to double that figure in less than two years to cross the $1 billion mark.
Since July 2017, the revenue collected by the state from the cannabis industry has never gone below $20 million each month. This shows massive growth given that the total state revenue from marijuana in February 2014 was just $3.5 million.
Speaking at a Net Net event in Denver on May 1, Gov. Polis revealed that the marijuana industry was doing very well because it had created “tens of thousands of jobs, reducing crime, filling up buildings and bringing state revenue.”
Speaking of creating jobs, there are 41,076 people who have licenses to work in the Colorado cannabis industry. It is reasonable to conclude that nearly all those people are indeed employed in the industry since the licenses are renewed every two years and it wouldn’t make sense for someone to pay for and renew a license if they aren’t working in the industry.
Gov. Polis wants to see the cannabis industry take even bigger strides and take full advantage of its trailblazer status across the country. He knows that cannabis sales will never equal those in bigger states, such as New Jersey and California, so he has set his sights on other ways through which Colorado can remain a leader in the industry. For example, he wants to see cannabis point of sale systems, cannabis genetics and cannabis chemistry innovations headquartered in Colorado from where other states are served by those companies.
With sales and state revenues hitting such highs, who would blame the governor for dreaming big? The situation in Colorado is far different from other states, such as California, where the legal cannabis industry is struggling under the yoke of high taxes, a vibrant black market and legal battles with local authorities and cities which have banned marijuana sales in their jurisdictions.
If only one could be a fly on the wall and hear what goes on in the corridors of companies like Golden Developing Solutions Inc. (OTC: DVLP) and Geyser Brands Inc. (TSX.V: GYSR) as they talk about the contrast between what is happening in Colorado and in California!
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