Since becoming law in 2012 and making its first legal sales in January of 2014. Colorado's legal cannabis market has continually shown its might and has generated billions of dollars in sales and revenue.

Despite sales being slightly down from the record breaking month of July*, the most recent data shows just how enormous coloradan's appetite for cannabis has become.

*You can check out the actual revenue documents released by the state here.

According to a report released last week by the Denver Post, recreational marijuana dispensaries across the state sold a whopping $166,547,119 during the month of September. While this figure does not represent a record total it is still a very large sum, one that continues to exceed expectations.

Not to be forgotten, dispensaries still operating in the Colorado medical marijuana market, which has shrunk considerably since adult-use laws took effect, sold $39,941,149 worth of cannabis to patients across the state in the same time period (Sept).

This year has been a disaster for the vast majority of businesses in the U.S., except for those that relate to home services, working from home, and food/necessities. When the COVID-19 pandemic began 9 months ago, many cannabis industry experts were concerned that the economic fallout would be too much for many smaller shops to bear. This could not have been farther from the truth.

Unbeknownst to advocates, patients, and consumers who have an interest in the cannabis industry, this novel coronavirus pandemic would provide much needed boosts in income for many shops that were facing declined interest due to over-saturation in the legal market and a very strong black market (where buyers do not have to worry about exorbitantly high taxes and purchase limits).

In fact, states with much smaller markets like Massachusetts have had a very hard time meeting the spike in demand as consumers from neighboring states crossed over the border to stock up before heading home to shelter-in-place.

At one point shortly after opening, close to 50% of retail cannabis sales in the state of MA were to out-of-state customers from New York!

The evidence is pretty clear. Americans need their weed, especially during an extended quarantine with an unknown ending date.

As we approach the end of the year, a little of reflection is all it takes to see how strong the cannabis market has become in America, and with a sweep during the 2020 election, shows no signs of slowing down.

It will be interesting to see how the incoming Biden administration confronts the issue of cannabis on the federal level, while several major lawsuits have entered the court system with the intent of rescheduling marijuana and making it a legal product nationwide.