Colorado continues to set new records when it comes to cannabis sales. Data maintained by the state government shows that marijuana sales in Colorado surpassed $560 million during the first three months of 2021, marking a quarterly high. The staggering success of legal cannabis bodes well for cannabis dispensaries and operators Colorado, as well as the cannabis industry more generally. Keep reading this blog to learn more.
Recreational & Medical Marijuana Sales Hit Record Highs in Colorado
Sales data from the first quarter of 2021 shows that cannabis is more popular than ever in Colorado. Dispensaries that sell recreational marijuana reported more than $560 million in sales in January, February, and March of this year. The cannabis sales figures come from the Colorado Department of Revenue, which tracks retail sales through tax revenues collected from dispensaries. (While the state keeps track of both recreational and medical cannabis sales, it does not monitor sales figures for cannabis accessories or related products such as pipes and grinders.)
In March of 2021, dispensaries reported approximately $207 million in cannabis sales. These sales came with three different taxes imposed by the state:
- Sales Tax: There is a 2.9% sales tax on any recreational or medical cannabis sold in dispensaries.
- Retail Tax: Colorado imposes a heavy 15% tax on the front-end for cannabis operators who sell adult-use cannabis in dispensaries.
- Retail Excise Tax: There is also a 15% tax paid directly by the businesses, which is similar to the tax typically imposed on goods like gas, alcohol, and cigarettes.
Cannabis Sales Generate Tax Revenues to Fund Colorado Government Programs
The remarkable surge in Colorado cannabis sales during the COVID-19 pandemic merely continued an upward trend that has been clear since adult-use cannabis became legal in 2014. Since that official beginning to the legal Colorado cannabis market, the state has generated more than $1.7 billion in tax revenue from dispensary sales.
The popularity of cannabis among Colorado residents and tourists has pumped money back into Colorado: the state uses cannabis tax revenues to fund the public school system, health care, police departments, important infrastructure projects, and other state and local government programs in need of financing. Under laws established by Colorado legislators when marijuana was first made legal in 2014, the state must place at least 71% of all cannabis sales tax revenues into a Marijuana Tax Cash Fund, and this fund is then used for many of these government programs. Another 12% of sales tax revenues must be used exclusively for the Colorado Public School Fund, and the remaining 17% goes into a General Fund to support health care, human services, and the state’s correctional system.
Contact Scythian Cannabis Real Estate for Information on Sale-Leaseback Deals
Scythian Real Estate is a Denver-based cannabis real estate fund that helps sophisticated cannabis operators get needed financing through sale-leaseback transactions. Scythian works with large cannabis companies across the U.S., including operators with a presence in the nation’s most mature cannabis market in Colorado. If you are a cannabis company interested in adding capital, email Scythian today.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS BLOG IS NEITHER AN OFFER TO SELL NOR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY SECURITIES IN SCYTHIAN REAL ESTATE FUND.
