DENVER — Colorado’s marijuana industry — one of the most mature in the nation— continues to thrive, posting record-setting sales figures through the first two months of 2017.
Combined sales of medical and recreational marijuana in January and February 2017 totaled over $235 million, up 30 percent from the same period in 2016, Marijuana Business Daily reported Monday.
It’s too soon to know if sales will continue at such a strong clip throughout the rest of 2017.
While medical marijuana sales are up slightly in 2017, sales of recreational marijuana have increased substantially. January 2017 recreational sales were 38 percent higher compared to January 2016, while February 2017 recreational sales were a whopping 48 percent above those in February 2016.
In fact, February 2017 ranks as the second-highest monthly total for recreational marijuana sales in the Colorado program’s history, falling just short of the $88.2 million sold in September 2016.
The sales figures are especially striking because they come amid a time of historically low wholesale marijuana prices, meaning that a 48 percent increase in sales represents an even larger increase in consumption.
According to Cannabis Benchmarks, which tracks marijuana prices, wholesale marijuana prices in mid-January 2017 were down 33 percent in Colorado versus mid-January 2016.
