Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana nearly four years ago, and their dispensaries are reaping the benefits.
On April 20, known among marijuana smokers as the high holiday 4/20, marijuana dispensaries in Colorado sold $7.3 million worth of legal pot. According to MarketWatch, that’s a 53 percent increase from the same date in 2015.
Colorado was also able to claim roughly $117 million worth of marijuana transactions in April, which shatters the previous $101 million record set in December.
In Washington state, marijuana dispensaries on April 20 had sales of $5.5 million, double the amount of sales on the same day in 2015. During the 4/20 holiday in Washington, hourly sales increased nearly 140 percent from average sales.
Twenty-four states have legalized medical marijuana, the most recent being Ohio on June 8. Four states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana. Colorado and Washington legalized recreational marijuana in November 2012, and Alaska, Oregon and Washington, D.C. eventually followed.
A Quinnipiac University poll released last week found 89 percent of voters support allowing adults to legalize use medical marijuana if prescribed by a doctor.
Voters are more divided on marijuana legalization in general, as 54 percent say “marijuana should be made legal in the United States” with no other qualifications, compared to 41 percent who say it should not be made legal.
Nationwide, legal marijuana sales reached $5.4 billion in 2015 and are expected to hit $6.7 billion in 2016.
