DENVER (KDVR) — There are fewer medical marijuana patients registered with the state of Colorado than in any previous year.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reports the number of patients enrolled on the medical marijuana registry each month, and there were just over 65,100 patients enrolled in May. Colorado’s numbers have been on a steady, slow decline since about September 2021 after about a year and a half of those numbers climbing.
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The number of registered medical marijuana patients hit an all-time high in October 2014 with 117,239 registered patients in Colorado. The state has not crested over 100,000 registered medical marijuana patients since November 2016, but that also means current numbers account for just over half of the state’s record — 55%. Drop in medical marijuana patients shown in tax decline
Medical marijuana has different — and lower — taxes than its recreational counterpart. Medical cannabis is taxed at 2.9% in Colorado, while recreational is taxed at 15% or higher, depending on the county.
So far this year, Colorado’s medical marijuana has garnered the state a little over $1.5 million, according to data provided by the Colorado Department of Revenue. Compared to the same period in 2023, that’s about a 37% drop in revenue: The state reported $2.39 million in medical marijuana taxes from January through May of 2023.
Retail numbers reported through May show that recreational marijuana state sales tax has only garnered almost $503,000, down from about $546,744 during the same period of 2023. The total taxes and fees collected for medical and recreational marijuana, including retail sales taxes, have crested $109.8 million.
The total amount of state tax money garnered from medical marijuana sales, according to the state, was about $58.9 million for January through April. Last year for that time, sales of medical marijuana totaled over $65.6 million.
Looking at April alone, medical marijuana tax revenue totaled $14.7 million this year, compared to about $16.7 million in April 2023. But in 2020, the state reported $36.5 million in revenue in April, meaning medical marijuana sales have decreased by […]
Fewer Coloradans are registering for medical marijuana, state data shows
