But sales are shrinking and with them, revenues. I'd add that the tax revenues were maybe not what some boosters told us they'd be. "Colorado collected just over $274.1 million in commercial marijuana taxes and licensing fees in 2023," Denver's Westworld reported in March, "and has tallied a little more than $43.5 through the first two months of 2024."

For a state that spent $38.5 billion last year, $274.1 million in taxes — shared in part with local governments — doesn't amount to much. It seems like a long time ago when the hippies were saying, "Just legalize it, man, and we'll close the deficit!" But to be fair, the hippies were probably stoned out of their minds when they came up with that.