More than 1-in-3 new retail marijuana stores, or 40 out of 112, were not inspected within a year of being licensed, an audit of the state's Marijuana Enforcement Division found.
Marijuana sales plummet across Colorado in 2021 krdo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from krdo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Colorado has sold over $10 billion in rec cannabis. ShutterstockProfessional / Shutterstock.com
In the wake of last yearâs economic shutdowns, five states have legalized recreational marijuana over the past four months. Colorado Springs, however, has yet to find a way to allow voters to decide whether recreational sale of the substance is right for the city.Â
Colorado Springs, like most cities, suffered an economic blow last year. Commerce slowed to a crawl in all but a few industries. The unemployment rate rose to a record high of around 12 percent. The city of Colorado Springs instituted a hiring freeze and slashed operational budgets by 20 percent across departments, cutting more than $21 million from coffers. But while city government took a share of CARES Act funding the federal government distributed to the state last year â using it to plug holes in its budget for 2021 with $15.7 million in expenditure savings â experts
Aurora became the first municipality in Colorado to approve recreational marijuana delivery during an Aurora City Council meeting on December 21; the service could begin as soon as January.
The Colorado Legislature passed a bill in 2019 legalizing medical and recreational marijuana delivery, but only allowed for medical marijuana in 2020, with recreational coming online in 2021. Because Aurora has no medical marijuana businesses, any kind of delivery was off the table until 2021 but first, per state law, the municipality had to opt into allowing delivery. And Aurora City Council did that during a second reading of the ordinance that passed 7-3 at the December 21 meeting.