Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
By the time the state's year-end marijuana tax data is released in February, it's possible that tax revenues for 2016 will top those from 2014 and 2015 combined.
Across Colorado, with November and December numbers still yet to be reported, recreational and medical marijuana sales have topped $1.1 billion this year, with $151 million in taxes, according to the state Department of Revenue.
And in Boulder, officials and those within the industry are keeping an eye on whether a slate of new local marijuana laws, which became effective Dec. 6, will lead to a bump in sales and taxes in the city.
The new laws allow, among other things, dispensaries to stay open until 10 p.m. instead of the previous 7 p.m. limit, to offer discounts and customer loyalty programs, to sponsor and advertise at local events and to sell clothing and other non-cannabis merchandise.
In recent interviews, managers of some dispensaries said they've begun rolling out changes now allowed by law, while many others said they plan to but have not yet.
Pot shops in Boulder can also now "co-locate" medical and recreational services, where previously any business holding licenses for both had to separate the two with different budtenders, safes, cameras and accounting.
Those in the industry saw the prior rules on separation, hours of operations and other aspects as cumbersome, and welcomed the changes.
"A lot of these (updated) laws were aimed at making it more manageable to run these businesses, and we think that efficiency is going to translate to more profitability," said Jeff Gard, a Boulder attorney who represents marijuana businesses.
"If your manager is focusing on customer service as opposed to how to navigate the very different rules from the city versus the state – every time you put time and energy into the customer instead, you're going to see an uptick in revenue."
City spokesman Patrick von Keyserling said in a statement that the city hasn't adjusted its revenue projections, in part because officials aren't convinced that adding three extra hours of operation every day will actually result in additional sales or merely in a spread of current sales across longer hours.
"(W)e will analyze receipts and trends in the coming months and make revenue estimate adjustments, as appropriate, for the 2018 budget," von Keyserling said.
The city reports that sales tax revenues for recreational marijuana are up almost 15 percent in 2016, which is among the biggest boosts for any of the roughly two-dozen city sales taxes that have seen revenue increases this year.
Revenue from medical marijuana taxes, however, have seen a 19-percent decrease in 2016 – the second biggest drop for any of the 10 sales taxes that have brought in less revenue this year against comparable year-to-date collections.
A Dec. 22 report shows a total of $4.4 million in marijuana-related tax revenue for the city in 2016, though that does not include November and December.
Garrett Cropsey, general manager of Headquarters, a pot shop with locations in Lyons and in Boulder, said he expects extra traffic in the city in 2017 as a result of the new rules, and specifically the new hours.
"The changes that rolled out should change the landscape a bit, but I don't think it's going to be super dramatic," he said. "If anything, whatever business (city shops) might have been losing – they aren't going to anymore.
"But counter that with increased overhead for staffing and power and all the logistics of keeping the business open later. They're going to have to deal with that, too."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: New Laws For Boulder Pot Industry Could Impact Revenue In 2017
Author: Alex Burness
Contact: (303) 442-1202
Photo Credit: Paul Aiken
Website: Daily Camera
Across Colorado, with November and December numbers still yet to be reported, recreational and medical marijuana sales have topped $1.1 billion this year, with $151 million in taxes, according to the state Department of Revenue.
And in Boulder, officials and those within the industry are keeping an eye on whether a slate of new local marijuana laws, which became effective Dec. 6, will lead to a bump in sales and taxes in the city.
The new laws allow, among other things, dispensaries to stay open until 10 p.m. instead of the previous 7 p.m. limit, to offer discounts and customer loyalty programs, to sponsor and advertise at local events and to sell clothing and other non-cannabis merchandise.
In recent interviews, managers of some dispensaries said they've begun rolling out changes now allowed by law, while many others said they plan to but have not yet.
Pot shops in Boulder can also now "co-locate" medical and recreational services, where previously any business holding licenses for both had to separate the two with different budtenders, safes, cameras and accounting.
Those in the industry saw the prior rules on separation, hours of operations and other aspects as cumbersome, and welcomed the changes.
"A lot of these (updated) laws were aimed at making it more manageable to run these businesses, and we think that efficiency is going to translate to more profitability," said Jeff Gard, a Boulder attorney who represents marijuana businesses.
"If your manager is focusing on customer service as opposed to how to navigate the very different rules from the city versus the state – every time you put time and energy into the customer instead, you're going to see an uptick in revenue."
City spokesman Patrick von Keyserling said in a statement that the city hasn't adjusted its revenue projections, in part because officials aren't convinced that adding three extra hours of operation every day will actually result in additional sales or merely in a spread of current sales across longer hours.
"(W)e will analyze receipts and trends in the coming months and make revenue estimate adjustments, as appropriate, for the 2018 budget," von Keyserling said.
The city reports that sales tax revenues for recreational marijuana are up almost 15 percent in 2016, which is among the biggest boosts for any of the roughly two-dozen city sales taxes that have seen revenue increases this year.
Revenue from medical marijuana taxes, however, have seen a 19-percent decrease in 2016 – the second biggest drop for any of the 10 sales taxes that have brought in less revenue this year against comparable year-to-date collections.
A Dec. 22 report shows a total of $4.4 million in marijuana-related tax revenue for the city in 2016, though that does not include November and December.
Garrett Cropsey, general manager of Headquarters, a pot shop with locations in Lyons and in Boulder, said he expects extra traffic in the city in 2017 as a result of the new rules, and specifically the new hours.
"The changes that rolled out should change the landscape a bit, but I don't think it's going to be super dramatic," he said. "If anything, whatever business (city shops) might have been losing – they aren't going to anymore.
"But counter that with increased overhead for staffing and power and all the logistics of keeping the business open later. They're going to have to deal with that, too."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: New Laws For Boulder Pot Industry Could Impact Revenue In 2017
Author: Alex Burness
Contact: (303) 442-1202
Photo Credit: Paul Aiken
Website: Daily Camera
