Scott Lentz
Audio By Carbonatix
Colorado marijuana sales have topped $1 billion since the pandemic began, according to figures released this week by the state Department of Revenue.
Legal marijuana sales topped $200 million in August for the second month in a row. Counting back to March of this year, when Colorado and the rest of the nation began shutting down over the pandemic, dispensaries have sold over $1.1 billion in marijuana products — and that’s not counting sales in September and October, or back in February and January.
And that’s with prices at a three-year high.
Readers had plenty to say about this record-breaking run in their Facebook comments on our story. Says Felicia:
Today is the last day of our summer campaign, and we’re just $450 | away from our goal!
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Good to see unemployment checks so well used.
Adds Ed:
No money to pay rent but plenty to purchase pot.
Counters Josh:
Is this the ’50s? The MJ industry supports thousands of jobs and adds millions in tax revenue. And landlords charging 1,200 bucks a month for a studio apartment that adds nothing to the local economy want sympathy for evicting people unemployed because of a global pandemic.
Fuck off.
Notes Gary:
Have you been to a dispensary lately? It ain’t homeless stoners buying a BILLION DOLLARS of pot one joint at a time. It’s the same people buying boats, RVs, OHVs in record numbers. Old guys just off the golf course buying some herb and some CBD. Retired people buying for the relief. Get over the stereotypes. Reefer Madness is so 100 years ago.
Comments David:
Proud to be a leader in the high-end cannabis market in Colorado.
And then there’s this from Margaret:
I don’t quite understand why purchasing alcohol isn’t as criticized as buying marijuana. Or cigarettes, for that matter. I am 72 years old and am happy it was legalized; I thought it should have been for years. I don’t believe it’s a gateway to addiction any more than alcohol always leads to alcoholism. And I also believe that marijuana usage leads to relatively mellow behavior for the most part, whereas many alcohol users become abusive, dangerous and violent.
So, anyone criticizing spending money on weed should compare that to what is dropped on booze and cigarettes….Oh, and by the way, I do not use weed!
What do you think about the sales figures? Post a comment or email editorial@westword.com.