An initiative that failed to make the Denver ballot in November 2017 sought to spend city money — as much as $8 million every four-year election cycle — to publicly fund political campaigns.

Colorado marijuana shops ring up nearly $120 million in sales in November

The pace of Colorado marijuana sales in November continued to ease from a breakneck sprint to a brisk walk.

Marijuana shops sold $119.6 million of recreational and medical cannabis — flower, edibles and concentrate — last November, a 9.5 percent increase from November 2016, according to data released Wednesday by the Colorado Department of Revenue.

November’s monthly sales, which consisted of $87.7 million of recreational product, included the third-lowest monthly total for medical marijuana sales in 2017, of $31.9 million.

Eleven months through 2017, sales climbed to $1.38 billion, surpassing the $1.31 billion recorded during the entirety of 2016. Through November, the annual sales growth rate continued to narrow, dropping to just under 16 percent.

Growth rates have continued to drop since the spring of 2017.

The November sales data released Wednesday was the first new monthly sales report released since the state announced Dec. 12 that it would publish official sales data for the marijuana industry.

Previously, The Cannabist — in an effort to provide comprehensive coverage of Colorado’s first-of-its-kind legal adult-use cannabis regime — developed formulas verified by state officials and economists to tabulate monthly sales estimates from the monthly reports of marijuana tax collections.


Sales stats for Colorado weed
A month-by-month look comparing sales of recreational and medical marijuana, as calculated by The Cannabist:

2017 Recreational total (10 months)
$921,554,385
2017 Medical total (10 months)
$361,661,270
2017 (10 months): $1,283,215,655
2016 Recreational total (12 months)
$861,587,411
2016 Medical total (12 months)
$445,616,062
2016 total: $1,307,203,473