Colorado marijuana sales down again in February

Colorado’s cannabis market took another beating, with sales down yet again for the month of February.

According to statistics from the state Department of Revenue, Colorado marijuana shops sold $114.4 million in February, down from $115.3 million in January, after coming off the state’s worst sales year since 2017.

The February stats include $100.5 million in recreational cannabis sales and another $13.8 million in medical marijuana sales.

The monthly sales figures were also down year-over-year by more than 8%, from $124.8 million in February 2023.

Last year, Colorado cannabis retailers sold $1.5 billion in products, the weakest performance since 2017.

The state has even become a cautionary tale for New York and other upcoming cannabis markets; Colorado’s market structure, licensing and sales statistics were brought up during this week’s New York Cannabis Control Board meeting as an example of what can happen in oversaturated markets.

Between 2017 and December 2023, Colorado recorded a 33% drop in the number of licensed retailers, a 35% dip in the number of growers, a 13% dip in the number of manufacturers, and a 48% decline in the number of testing labs, for a total market decline of 16%, New York cannabis policy czar John Kagia told the CCB this week.

Wholesale prices in Colorado are down 60% from the market launch 10 years ago, from more than $2,000 per pound to just $749 a pound, and average revenue per retailer is down almost 30% since the “pandemic surge” of 2020 and 2021, Kagia reported.

“What we’ve seen since 2022 … is that revenues have started to fall again, and they’re going back to where they were before we had that two-year pandemic surge,” Kagia said.