CO allows residents to apply for recreational pot business licenses

Today Colorado allows residents to apply for recreational marijuana business licenses. Back in January when the state began welcoming recreational marijuana stores, new proprietors had to own an existing medical marijuana venue in the state. They also had to grow their own supply of weed. But today all that’s changed.

“It’s tough to know how many people are really going to apply,” said Mike Elliott, executive director of the Marijuana Industry Group. “Running a marijuana business is much, much more difficult than it might initially appear.”

The Denver post reports that as of mid-June, 292 individuals have filed optional notices with the state saying that they planned to apply for a recreational marijuana business license starting July 1. However, the demand for recreational pot is lower than expected. Elliot points out that of the more than $200 million in sales at all Colorado marijuana stores during the first four months of the year, two-thirds of it has been at medical marijuana dispensaries. That’s because medical marijuana isn’t taxed as much as recreational marijuana. During it’s first month of sales, in January, medical marijuana outsold recreational weed in Colorado by more than two to one. It generated a total of $31 million in sales, but Colorado only collected roughly $1.4 million.

Anyhow, starting Tuesday, newcomers to the industry can apply for recreational marijuana business licenses—the only requirement now is that they be Colorado residents—to open a storefront that sells herb that’s not grown by the owners or specialize in growing only. The new licenses go into effect later this year in October.

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