Colorado recorded $14 million in sales of retail cannabis sales in January, with $2 million going into the state treasury as taxes. January is a terrible month to use as a guide, but these numbers are the very first that aren’t estimates, guesstimates, or outright guesses.
They are about half what the predictions were. Better numbers will be available after the first quarter.
If these numbers hold, and I doubt they will ever be so low, it casts severe doubts on the numbers Washington has been using. I thought that Washington’s guesses were kinda high and have been anxious to see Colorado results as a check on Washington. They ought to be roughly similar.
Of course, no one knows the size of the black market of cannabis. It has been basically illegal to study the market, and Law Enforcement numbers were drastically overstated because they had a direct stake in apprehending high-value illegal stashes.
First retail sales in Washington could be in June, as the first legal seedlings are now growing.