As Colorado approaches its 10-year anniversary since legal adult-use marijuana sales began, the city of Denver has released a report indicating that its local regulatory framework has effectively reduced the size of the illicit market, with law enforcement processing a record low amount of illegal cannabis in 2022.
The municipal government’s report also provides an overview of marijuana licensing and sales trends, showing how the recreational market has gradually overtaken the medical cannabis industry and how overall sales have started to slump. It additionally details how tax revenue from marijuana purchases is being locally distributed and the limited progress of the city’s social equity program.
Denver, the first city in the U.S. where adult-use retailers opened up in 2014 following voter approval of a reform initiative at the ballot in 2012, is offering a case study supporting advocates’ arguments that implementing a legal and regulated cannabis market can curb illicit sales.
According to the report, police in the city processed 2,435 pounds of illegal marijuana in 2022—down 74 percent since the first retailers opened. It’s possible that in addition to being largely driven by a reduced demand for unregulated products, some of the decline in seizures is attributable to police
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