Colorado's cannabis cultivation space has shrunk considerably over the past year, with licensed growing operations dropping by nearly 20 percent since last September, state data shows.
According to Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division records, there were 824 licensed cannabis growing operations in the state as of September 2024, with 558 of them licensed to grow recreational cannabis and 266 licensed for medical (although many growing operations are dual-licensed to grow both at the same location). At the same point last year, there were 1,013 growing licenses across the state.
It's not like 2023 was a good year, either. From 2022 to 2023, Colorado saw about a 15 percent reduction in cannabis growing licenses, according to MED numbers, while the state's marijuana industry cut an estimated 10,000 jobs, according to a report from cannabis industry staffing firm Vangst.
After record-breaking performances during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Colorado's cannabis industry experienced a surge in growers and a surplus of product. The oversupply and increased competition from states new to legal cannabis put commercial pot sales in a downward spiral. In 2021, annual dispensary sales peaked at over $2.2 billion, but that number decreased by over 31 percent from 2021 to 2023, and this year is expected to come in even lower than last.
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