A report shows that the three states currently selling legalized adult use marijuana are bringing in a combined $123.5 million in sales each month.
Colorado, Oregon, and Washington are averaging a combined $123.5 million in recreational marijuana sales per month, Marijuana Business Daily reports. The combined average, based on sales data from January 2016 through April or May 2016, puts the three states on track to reach approximately $1.5 billion in total recreational marijuana sales in 2016.
Of the three states, Colorado leads the way, averaging $62 million per month in adult use sales from January through May. Washington averaged $46 million in monthly sales, followed by Oregon with a monthly sales average of $12 million.
Colorado, the first of the states to legalize adult use marijuana, has seen its cannabis industry experience nothing but continued growth since voters passed Amendment 64 in November 2012. The state’s marijuana industry brought in nearly $1 billion in total cannabis sales in 2015 and is on pace to surpass that sales total this year. Marijuana tax reports from the Colorado Department of Revenue showed that the state broke the $100 million mark in monthly marijuana sales for the third time this past April, with a record-breaking $76.6 million coming from recreational marijuana.
The state of Washington, which legalized adult use marijuana shortly after Colorado, brought in a total of $229 million in recreational marijuana sales from January to May. Although sales at the start of the year were sluggish, they’ve grown about 5 percent a month so far this year, and June has shown to be the state’s most lucrative month, with roughly $86.7 million in adult use marijuana sales being reported.
Washington has reached the $1 billion total sales mark of recreational marijuana since sales began in July 2014, the Washington Times reports. The sales have generated more than $250 million in excise tax revenue for the state, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
In Oregon, where recreational marijuana sales began in October 2015, the marijuana market has far exceeded estimates. Recreational marijuana sales were projected by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to be $10.7 million for the 2015-2017 biennium, but the state racked up $60 million in adult use sales in the first five months of this year alone. Currently, Oregon recreational marijuana sales are made through existing medical dispensaries, which are limited on the amount of cannabis they can sell to adult use customers. These limitations will be lifted once retail stores open later in the year, and with the state recently allowing the sale of adult-use edibles, sales will likely grow significantly throughout the rest of 2016.
Adult use sales are steadily growing in all three states, and the Marijuana Business Daily predicts that total year revenues could reach $1.8 or $2 billion in 2016. Plus, Alaska is expected to launch its recreational marijuana market later this year, which will further boost national sales numbers.
