The Colorado Department of Revenue’s announcement that $1.3 billion in regulated marijuana sales took place in calendar year 2016, generating nearly $200 million in state tax revenue. These figures do not include millions of dollars in revenue generated by local taxes on marijuana.

The Cannabist reports:

To put the state’s third year of regulated recreational marijuana sales in perspective, Year One totaled $699.2 million (combined with medical sales) and Year Two jumped up to $996.2 million. The trend should continue in Year Four, but beyond that? It’s a murkier proposition.

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2016 was the year in which the $100-million-month became a baseline and heralded a record-breaking summer: The combined sales for July, August and September were $376.6 million.

Monthly sales topped $100 million in eight of the 12 months. In December, which is typically a strong month for cannabis transactions, pot shops’ sales were a little more than $114.7 million, a 13 percent increase from the $101.3 million recorded in December 2015.

MPP's Mason Tvert had this to say:

“Over one billion dollars in marijuana sales that once took place in the underground market were instead conducted in regulated businesses this year. The state received nearly $200 million in marijuana tax revenue, whereas just a decade ago it was receiving zero. Hopefully this will be a wake-up call for the 42 states that still choose to force marijuana sales into the criminal market and forego millions of dollars in tax revenue.

“Marijuana tax revenue is not going to cover the state’s budget, but it is going to cover important programs and services that would otherwise be left out of it. This money is just the tip of the iceberg. The state is also reaping the invaluable public health and safety benefits of replacing an underground market with a tightly regulated system. Marijuana is now being sold in licensed businesses, rather than out on the street. It is being properly tested, packaged, and labeled, and it is only being sold to adults who show proof of age. The system is working.”

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It’s been exactly six months since legal retail marijuana sales began in Colorado, and today is the first day that retail marijuana business licenses are open to all applicants — not just those who previously held medical marijuana licenses.

Click here for an application checklist and the required application forms. Please note that these licenses would not go into effect until October 1, 2014, and businesses would still require local approval.

In these brief six months, the Centennial State has already experienced overwhelmingly positive results! There has been a 10.1% decrease in overall crime from 2013. As of May, the state had collected $10.9 million in taxes from adult use stores alone. The Department of Revenue has licensed nearly 600 retail marijuana businesses — including dispensaries, cultivators, and infused products manufacturers — and 10,043 individuals to work in the industry.

Collateral sectors are also feeling the love, especially in the tourism industry. Colorado ski resorts enjoyed a record-breaking season, with 12.6 million visitors, and 14 million Denver tourists spent an all-time high of $4 billion. More families and businesses are also moving to the Mile High City. In 2013, Denver attracted more sales of single-family homes last year than during the housing boom, and is ranked among the top commercial real estate markets to watch.

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The Colorado Department of Revenue Marijuana Enforcement Division released initial regulations for the state’s impending legal marijuana industry on Monday, bringing the implementation of Amendment 64 one step closer to completion.

Denver's Westword compiled a pretty good summary of the new rules, which cover the licensing and application process; production and sales models; and security and labeling requirements.

It is important to note that these are emergency rules that were created in accordance with the timeline established by Amendment 64. The Department of Revenue will now carry out a lengthier process to develop a final set of rules.

Marijuana retail shops will be able to begin opening in Colorado on January 1, 2014. Colorado residents age 21 and over will be able to purchase up to one ounce of marijuana from a licensed and regulated store; non-residents will be able to buy up to a quarter of an ounce at a time.

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A federal judge struck down a provision of Colorado’s legalization law on Tuesday, which would have required marijuana-themed magazines to be treated like pornography and sold behind the counter.

Magazine publishers and local bookstores filed a lawsuit against the state in early June, arguing that such restrictions were not in place while marijuana use was illegal.

The ruling follows last week’s statement by anti-marijuana Attorney General John Suthers that the provision is unconstitutional.

The Colorado Department of Revenue, which is in the process of setting up the law’s regulatory framework, announced that it will not enforce the provision.

Mason Tvert, MPP's communications director and a campaigner for Colorado’s 2012 referendum, said, “The idea that stores can prominently display magazines touting the joys of drinking wine and smoking cigars, yet banish those that discuss a far safer substance to behind the counter, is absolutely absurd. It is time for our elected leaders to get over their reefer madness."

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