Denver’s marijuana industry records first recession since legalization

( NewsNation ) — For the first time in Colorado’s 11 years of recreational marijuana legalization , Denver’s marijuana sales and revenue are consistently dropping.

City data shows the descent began in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the first drop recorded in 2021. Compared to 2020’s all-time high medical and retail sales of $715 million, the first seven months of 2024 have raked in a measly $180 million.

Revenue goes hand in hand with these numbers. Since 2021’s peak revenue of $72.9 million, profit has been consistently harder to come by. 2022 raked in $56.2 million, while 2023 recorded only $48.5 million.

Shannon Donnelly, an adjunct professor of cannabis at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, told NewsNation local affiliate KDVR that Denver’s dispensaries must now accommodate in-state purchases rather than traveler traffic.

“It’s no longer you can just make a dispensary and become rich,” Donnelley said. “You have to have something that differentiates yourself.”

Another Denver Department of Excise and Licenses spokesperson told KDVR that, since the pandemic, Colorado consumers might be budgeting more — and marijuana is no longer making the cut.

Eric Escudero, spokesperson for the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses, echoed Donnelley’s statement about supply and demand in an interview with Scripps News .

“Because legalization has spread across the United States, less people are coming to Denver to consume and purchase marijuana,” said Escudero. “[Businesses are] going to have to adapt.”

According to DISA Global Solutions , which helps businesses with drug testing needs, marijuana is legal on some level in a vast majority of the states, with 25 boasting a “fully legal” status.

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