Colorado marijuana shops kicked off 2017 by selling nearly $109 million in recreational and medical cannabis in January, marking a 23 percent increase from January 2016, the latest revenue data show.
The Cannabist’s calculations of state tax revenue data that dropped Thursday afternoon show that recreational marijuana sales in January 2017 totaled $77.9 million — up $21.4 million year-over-year — while the month’s medical marijuana sales were $31.1 million, a 2.8 percent decrease from January 2016.
It’s the eight consecutive month that medical and adult-use sales have topped $100 million.
It’s also the fifth consecutive month that medical sales have seen a drop. Medical marijuana sales in the state have steadily declined since setting a yearly high of $41.4 million last August, Cannabist tabulations show.
The monthly sales equate to $17.7 million in revenue to the state from taxes and licensing fees, according to the Department of Revenue report.
Colorado’s young marijuana industry reeled in $1.3 billion in sales in 2016, a year that included a spate of record-setting summer monthly totals.
Economists have said it’s likely that the industry could outdo itself again this year, but extending those sales gains beyond 2017 would be challenging.
By 2018, the medical or recreational marijuana programs could be up-and-running in some or all of the eight states that voted in November to legalize.
Original article via TheCannabist