Dispensaries in Colorado sold almost $76.6 million worth of recreational marijuana in April, setting a new record for monthly sales, according to a report from The Cannabist. The previous record of $62.2 million was set in December 2015.
Paired with the near $41 million in medicinal cannabis sales, the April benchmark represents a new all-time high for total monthly cannabis sales in the state, totaling $117.4 million.
According to data from the state Department of Revenue, recreational sales are up more than 80 percent from April 2015, during which $42.4 million in recreational marijuana, oil, and edibles were sold in Colorado.
Through the first four months of 2016, Colorado’s recreational market has netted $246,778,661 while medicinal sales total $140,758,977. So far, the state has raised nearly $57 million in taxes and fees via the legal cannabis industry, which is taxed the standard 2.9 percent sales tax, another 10 percent special sales tax, and a 15 percent excise tax on wholesale transfers – the excise tax is reserved for school construction projects.
At this rate, the recreational market could easily top $700 million in 2016, eclipsing the near $588 million sales totals from 2015. Medicinal sales are also on pace to surpass 2015 totals – which were about $408 million – with an estimated $422 million.
In 2015, Colorado’s legal cannabis market raked $996,184,788 in total sales.