The Rise And Fall Of Pioneering Weed Markets: RIP California And Colorado Cannabis Industries
This article was originally published on Cannabis.net and appears here with permission.
When Colorado and Washington made history in 2012 as the first U.S. states to legalize recreational marijuana, they kicked off a green rush that rapidly transformed the cannabis industry. Colorado in particular saw a meteoric rise, with sales soaring to $2.2 billion in 2020 and the state raking in hundreds of millions in cannabis tax revenue. Some local entrepreneurs rode this wave to stunning success, building national brands from humble beginnings.
Fast forward to 2024 and the Rocky Mountain high has worn off. Colorado dispensaries that once couldn’t keep up with demand now sit shuttered. Statewide sales have plummeted over 30% from their peak. While still a sizable market, the trailblazing industry that put Colorado on the cannabis map is now a cautionary tale.
1,200 miles to the west, California – the country’s largest legal weed market – is facing its own reckoning. Despite the Golden State’s legendary cannabis culture and ideal growing climate, many legitimate operators are struggling to stay afloat. But while Colorado’s crash stems from market saturation and competition from newly legal neighbors, California’s decline has more to do with over-taxation enabling the tenacious black market to undercut legal businesses.
As more and more states jump on the legalization bandwagon, policymakers are looking to these early adopters to understand how to establish a stable and sustainable cannabis sector. In this article, we’ll unpack the factors behind the slumping sales in Colorado and California, and explore what lessons emerging marijuana markets can take away to avoid the same pitfalls. The great American pot experiment is far from over.
The Colorado Conundrum
Colorado’s cannabis industry, once a roaring success story, has fallen on hard times. According to a recent Politico article, statewide marijuana sales have plunged from a high of $2.2 billion in 2020 to just $1.5 billion in 2023 – a jaw-dropping decline of over 30% in just three years. This has led to widespread layoffs, business closures, and a lot of nervous industry stakeholders.
So what’s behind this Rocky Mountain revenue recession? Industry insiders point to a perfect storm of factors. “It’s like the wind in our cannabis sails in Colorado has just been sucked all the way out,” laments Wanda James, founder of Denver dispensary Simply Pure.
A key culprit is the very success that Colorado pioneered – the spread of legalization to neighboring states like New Mexico and Arizona, which has siphoned off customers. “We’re a victim of our own success,” explains Jordan Wellington, a partner at Denver-based cannabis policy firm Strategies 64. “New markets drawing investment away, new markets drawing purchasing away — all of these different things combined into the soup of the challenges [facing] Colorado.”
Businesses have had to adapt to this new reality in different ways. Some, like Dank Dispensary in Denver, have had …