Jacqueline Collins
After a down year, Colorado marijuana sales are off to an even slower start in 2023, according to data from the stateColorado dispensaries reported slightly under $129.4 million in sales during the first month of 2023, DOR data shows. That's nearly 15 percent less than the $151.1 million sold in January 2022, and more than 30 percent less than the $187.6 million in January 2021.
The drop in sales has led to a decline in marijuana tax revenue, too, with state collections dropping from $423.5 million in all of 2021 to a total of $325.1 million last year. For the first two months of 2023, Colorado has reported slightly over $47.1 million in marijuana taxes and fees, which is more than 20 percent under the $58.9 million accrued in the same span last year.
Legal marijuana prices and sales figures hit record highs in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, but began sliding in the second half of 2021. Then the Colorado pot industry hit a full-blown recession in 2022, and the numbers are only getting worse.from 2021 to 2022, hitting a record low since recreational legalization, while medical marijuana sales also saw record lows.