Colorado Marijuana Demand Report Released
The Colorado Department of Revenue and The Marijuana Policy Group released a report entitled “Market Size and Demand for Marijuana in Colorado”. The report estimates the total demand for marijuana in the state and reveals a number of new and unique characteristics related to Colorado’s market for marijuana.
The report states “The demand for marijuana by Colorado adult residents is estimated to be 121.4 metric tons in 2014. In addition, the demand by visitors to the state is estimated to be 8.9 metric tons for a total estimated demand of 130.3 metric tons.” That’s 31 percent higher than a previous Department of Revenue estimate and 89 percent higher than a study by the Colorado Futures Center.
The report also reveals there are 485 thousand “regular” adult marijuana users in Colorado (or 9% of the population). The highest frequency users (near daily) account for 66.9% of demand.
The Colorado Marijuana Tourism trade is also booming, with purchases by out-of-state visitors currently representing about 44% of metro area retail sales and about 90% of retail sales in heavily visited mountain communities. And by “heavily visited mountain communities”, I am sure they mean the ski resorts…
The entire report can be downloaded here
When combined with previous reports about the decrease in violent crime in Colorado since the legalization of recreational marijuana use, and the higher then anticipated tax revenues, the idea of recreational marijuana may be becoming more and more attractive to other states looking to boost their economy. However one must wonder what the effect of those other states legalization efforts will have on Colorado where nearly half of all demand is coming from marijuana tourism.
