Move Over Colorado, Here Comes California
The New Year has California in the retail weed business. Will this take some of the shine off of Colorado?
Denver was the big dog when it came to the number of dispensaries. Now that California is in the game, LA and The Bay Area will blow the Denver number away. California was already off to a pretty big start with over 1,300 medial operations in business. Nearly all of them are excepted to apply for recreational licenses. In comparison, Colorado has 700 to 800 combined medical and retail facalities.
California is set to break revene records too. Estimates put the number at 3.7 billion this year and over 5 billion by the end of 2019. If that's the case, California will blow past Colorado's cash revenue in less than a year.
However, not every community in The Golden State is on board. Just as in Colorado, California lets cities decide if they're cool with retails sales. Most of California's major metros have either already issued dispensary licenses, or are about to. Some cities have said no. Riverside, Fresno, Bakersfield, Pasadena, and Anaheim have all banned sales, as have many smaller communities and towns.
Will this impact the weed tourism business? For a few years, Colorado has enjoyed being a bit of a novelty with the shops around. Along with great skiing, it's become a bit of the experience. Will those looking for a simular vacation now choose Califorina or will having another state in the game have little revenue effect locally? Is there plenty of demand and dollars to go around?
Credit: Westworld