Economy Archives - Colorado Leads

The Maturity of the Market

October 21, 2020/in Economy, Research, Sales /by Admin

Colorado cannabis users have spent about $1.42 billion on cannabis through August, positioning the industry to exceed $2 billion in 2020 sales – four years earlier than industry experts’ predictions.

These numbers come as the Marijuana Enforcement Division released an in-depth report on the Colorado cannabis market, which was prepared by MPG Consulting (formerly the Marijuana Policy Group) and Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. The key themes include:

The regulated market is nearing maturity as evidenced by price trends, supply patterns and consolidation.
A larger and more compliant market has emerged and includes accurate reporting, better internal controls, better use of the inventory tracking system by state and industry, and an effective regulatory and enforcement system.
Most all regulated marijuana products have continued to decline due to improvements in production efficiencies and competition.
Adult use marijuana sales are still increasing, medical sales, not so much.
Shifting demand to Concentrates continues.
Average potency continues a steady increase while price per dose is decreasing.
Consumption is increasing among Colorado adults.

Cannabis by the Numbers

August 4, 2020/in Businesses, Crime, Economy, People, Tax /by Admin

Despite the pandemic, there has been a lot of positive cannabis news in the last couple of weeks.

From research advancements to increases in industry employment numbers to an infusion of millions of dollars of tax money to the State of Colorado, the cannabis industry has a lot to be proud of.

By the numbers:

The cannabis industry’s
projected economic impact
by 2024.

Projections show cannabis employment growth could increase 50% in 2020. That would be more than the number of the nation’s computer programmers. Chart: US cannabis employment could climb nearly 50% in 2020, surpassing computer programmers

The year marijuana was hailed as a miraculous treatment for “general debility” and “nervous excitement.” Since then, there hasn’t been much scientific research on cannabis, but Colorado is one of the states trying to lead the way with controlled, peer-reviewed studies.

Put a $ in front of it and it’s $167 million. That’s the tax revenue generated by the Colorado cannabis industry from January through June of 2020. Since legalization, the state has received nearly $1.4 billion in cannabis taxes and fees.

Here’s how Denver spends it’s
tax revenue.

Here are the 35 most influential womenin cannabis, according to Green Entrepreneur. Notables include soccer star Megan Rapinoe, and in Colorado, CEO of Simply Pure Dispensary, Wanda James, Shannon Donnelly, CEO of Healthy Honeys, and Nancy Whiteman, CEO of Wana Brands.

That is how much of an increase in the rates of crime in states bordering Colorado and Washington, according to a study published in the Journal of Drug Issues. In fact, researchers found “a substantial reduction in certain types of crimes, such as property crime, larceny, and simple assault in border counties in the Colorado region.”

The coronavirus may hit the cannabis industry

March 11, 2020/in Economy, Health, Uncategorized /by Admin

The economic fallout, that is. So far, the coronavirus outbreak has resulted in lower sales and some cannabis-related events have been canceled. And a lot of inexpensive cannabis hardware is made in China.

More Here »

Taking stock

February 25, 2020/in Businesses, Economy, Investment /by Admin

The Motley Fool looks at four catalysts that could help make or break cannabis stocks this year.

What goes up must come down. And then come up again.

September 26, 2019/in Economy, Sales /by Admin

After a year of decline, Colorado cannabis prices are surging upward again. The average price of a pound of dried, wholesale marijuana hit $999, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue. Is it a “phase?” Will there be supply shortages?

And More »

You need a J-O-B? The cannabis industry might have one

August 22, 2019/in Economy, Employment, Uncategorized /by Admin

There are now more than 211,000 cannabis jobs across the United States (296,000 if indirect jobs are included). More than 64,000 of those jobs were added in 2018. That’s enough people to fill Chicago’s Soldier Field, with 3,000 more tailgating outside.

The number of “plant-touching” jobs is expected to pass 500,000 by 2022 and employ 630,000 people by 2025, according to New Frontier Data, a cannabis market research and data analysis firm.

These jobs don’t take into account industries that rely on the cannabis economy, including financial, legal, real estate, construction and other professional services. And because cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, employment data agencies such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics don’t track jobs related to the cannabis industry.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

July 3, 2019/in Economy, Employment /by Admin

… but trying to come up with specific numbers is difficult because those jobs don’t show up in government employment data. This leaves American workers in the dark about high wages and job opportunities in the marijuana industry, experts say.

When a state grows too much cannabis, what do you do?

July 3, 2019/in Businesses, Economy, Legislation /by Admin

Well, Oregon is working on that very problem where a flood of legal cannabis and optimal growing conditions have seen prices plummet. Oregon signed two bills into law last week, “one aimed at curbing excess production and the other seeking to establish new markets to funnel excess (cannabis) into.”

The first one is easy, but the second one has that pesky legal problem of it being illegal to transport cannabis over state lines. Oregonians are optimistic about the end of that problem, but it presumes overcoming some fairly high hurdles. More »

It looks like two federal legislators from Oregon are attempting to do something about that second problem. More »

Colorado Kicks Butt

July 3, 2019/in Businesses, Economy, Hemp, Uncategorized /by Admin

Colorado Department of Agriculture Director Kate Greenberg lays out the many ways she believes our state is leading the way in hemp.

“Basically, we kick butt. We had one of the first hemp programs in the country, and there’s still only a few across the country. Folks are racing post-2018 Farm Bill to set something up, but we are five years ahead of the curve, having our own hemp program.”

Read the full interview here »

Business News

May 8, 2019/in Businesses, Economy, Investment /by Admin

One person’s trash is another’s treasure

There is an emerging cannabis sector that turns plant refuse and post-extraction leftovers into marketable products that range from animal bedding to construction materials.

If the U.S. legalized cannabis today…

It would be a $28 billion market, growing to $41 billion by 2028, according to Barclays analysts. They also found that marijuana tax revenues are already ahead of alcohol tax revenues in Colorado, Washington state and Nevada.

Note to investors: Be optimistic, but careful

The marijuana industry has strong potential especially after legalization for recreational and medicinal use. However, investors should be careful as several industry stocks have already skyrocketed even as the industry has been tagged as highly volatile.