Marijuana Business Magazine - February 2018

MARKET AT A GLANCE Main measure Amendment 64 Year passed 2010 Cannabis business regulations Heavy. While the number of statewide licenses is not restricted, some municipalities have banned recreational marijuana businesses. The state also has changed or updated its rules numerous times, particularly those for infused products. Regulations address all aspects of operations at all levels of the supply chain. Among other things, they cover seed-to-sale tracking, transportation, labeling, recordkeeping, testing, packaging and advertising. State tax requirements (recreational) 15% wholesale excise tax, 15% special sales tax, 2.9% state sales tax Sampling of state recreational licensing fees Application: Retail Store, Cultivation and Infused Product Manufacturing –$2,500 License: Retail Store – $2,000 Cultivation – $1,500 Infused Product Manufacturing – $1,500 What to watch • As part of a broader legislative package to fund Colorado’s rural hospitals, Gov. John Hick- enlooper signed a bill into law raising the retail cannabis sales tax from 10% to 15%. The increase has the potential to dampen the state’s adult-use marijuana sales. • The first recreational marijuana consumption lounge in the United States may soon be established in Colorado. The Coffee Joint – a Denver java shop – applied for a social-use permit to allow indoor vaping and consumption of cannabis edibles. A public hearing on the license is expected in early 2018. Colorado Colorado has the oldest adult-use cannabis market in the United States, and sales have yet to plateau. Through October 2017, the state’s recreational sales had eclipsed $900 million and were on pace to top $1 billion for the entire year. Current signs, however, point to an industry nearing saturation. More than 700 cultivation licenses have been granted in Colorado, and the fiercer competi- tion has continued to push wholesale cannabis prices lower. At the same time, Colorado’s largest retailers are getting even bigger – opening more stores across the state than individual entrepre- neurs who are establishing stand-alone shops. February 2018 • Marijuana Business Magazine • 113