How
much cannabis does it take to keep Colorado’s industry going? A new
state-produced study has estimated that it will take a total of 130.3 metric
tons of cannabis to keep up with the annual demand. That comes out to an
astounding 287,259 pounds of cannabis being produced within the industry
annually.
To
put this in perspective, that is more than the gross weight of 10 school buses,
which average 25,000 pounds each. The total mass of cannabis needed in Colorado
outweighs a B-52 Bomber or a NASA space shuttle. Overall, the amount of product
Colorado is going through weighs more than a blue whale, which weighs
approximately 250,000 pounds.
The
calculations for the required demand found in this study are much higher than
previous estimates. The discrepancy was mostly caused do to underestimating the
amount of cannabis required by heavy users. The study found that 22 percent of
users consume 67 percent of the total demand. These high tolerance users had
been previously under accounted for.
Colorado’s
cannabis industry is growing rapidly and this is in large part thanks to the
tourism. The study found that almost half of recreational sales in the metro
area were made to out-of-state visitors. In the mountain towns, upwards of 90
percent of the recreational sales are going to tourists. The majority of
Colorado citizens are joining the thriving medical market. The medical market
has continued to outperform the recreational market over the past couple
months. The estimated 130 metric tons also doesn’t account for individual home
grows which many Colorado residents have started.
The
cannabis culture in Colorado is continuing to spread attracting visitors from
around the world. Even President Obama was offered a dose of cannabis recently while
visiting the local Wynkoop Brewing Company with Governor Hickenlooper. The
President playfully laughed off the offer as he made his way out, but the
reality is that the offer stands, to the President and anyone else. Colorado
wants to share the experience of legal cannabis.
