Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel
Lucky Me Dispensary was the first of 10 retail marijuana store to be opened in Grand Junction. Colorado has experienced an overall downturn in marijuana revenue as more states legalize the drug, according to a report from the state of Colorado released in September. The report said revenue is expected to stabilize and then increase over the coming years as prices and consumption rebound.
Sentinel File Photo
Colorado Weedery, 879 Struthers Ave., is doing good business in Grand Junction, according to owner Jesse Loughman. “I had a pretty good idea of what the general gross market for cannabis sales in that area would be, and so we’re right on par with what we anticipated,” Loughman said.
Photos by Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel
A colorful painted mural inside the Grand Junction Greenery welcomes customers to the third retail marijuana dispensary to open in Grand Junction.
Native Roots employees celebrate the store’s open with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in December 2023 as the fourth recreational marijuana shop in Grand Junction to officially open.
Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel
Lucky Me Dispensary was the first of 10 retail marijuana store to be opened in Grand Junction. Colorado has experienced an overall downturn in marijuana revenue as more states legalize the drug, according to a report from the state of Colorado released in September. The report said revenue is expected to stabilize and then increase over the coming years as prices and consumption rebound.
After the first retail recreation marijuana dispensary opened in October 2023, the market in Grand Junction has stabilized.
The city is now home to eight dispensaries with two more still to open.
The move to get Grand Junction into the recreation marijuana market came when voters approved retail marijuana in the city in April 2021.
The first four stores opened in late 2023.
In 2024, the City of Grand Junction budgeted about $2.5 million in marijuana revenue between the city’s special sales tax and the share the city gets from the state of Colorado, Grand Junction Interim Finance Director Jodi Welch said.
Welch said that for the year, the city is looking at about $1.7 million total for 2024.
That’s less than the city adopted for the budget, Welch said, but the city is currently not spending any of the cannabis money, which is slated to go toward the Community Recreation Center at Matchett Park. A small portion of the funds already goes toward a marijuana compliance enforcement position at the Grand Junction Police Department.
Sentinel File Photo
Colorado Weedery, 879 Struthers Ave., is doing good business in Grand Junction, according to owner Jesse Loughman. “I had a pretty good idea of what the general gross market for cannabis sales in that area would be, and so we’re right on par with what we anticipated,” Loughman said.
Grand Junction voters approved a 0.14% sales tax increase in April 2023 to fund a now-estimated 102,000-square-foot recreation center at Matchett Park, with funds from the city’s marijuana sales tax also slated to help out.
The drop in cannabis revenue compared to projections is not affecting that project, Welch said.
Welch said the city is using the Community Recreation Center sales tax money first, with the cannabis tax slated to cover any gaps.
“Right now we’re not spending any of the cannabis money for that because of course the rec center’s not open yet, and we are covering all the costs associated with the debt service and some preliminary operating costs for the (Community Recreation Center), mainly to bring some staff on ahead of the opening,” Welch said.
Colorado has experienced an overall downturn in marijuana revenue as more states legalize the drug, according to a report from the state of Colorado released in September.
The report also cites a drop in consumption.
“The decline in marijuana tax revenue is largely due to falling consumption after the surge during the COVID-19 pandemic alongside falling demand as other states across the country legalize marijuana,” the report stated. “Additionally, an oversupply of marijuana has resulted in persistently low prices at both the wholesale and retail levels.”
However, according to the report, revenue is expected to stabilize and then increase over the coming years as prices and consumption rebound.
Grand Junction has projected $1.4 million from the city’s marijuana tax in 2025, Welch said. That excludes the share the city receives from the state of Colorado.
“We adjusted our expectations based on what we realized this year,” Welch said.
The City of Grand Junction held a lottery in March 2023 to decide which 10 of 31 final applicants for retail licenses would receive licenses. City Council had previously decided to cap the number of licenses at 10. The stores had one year from the lottery date to open.
Four marijuana stores opened in late 2023, with the other six receiving opening extensions of up to an additional year. Four more stores opened in 2024, with the final two shooting for early 2025 openings.
Jesse Loughman, owner of the Colorado Weedery, which has locations in Palisade and Grand Junction, said that business at the Palisade location has fallen off since Grand Junction’s marijuana stores have opened, but the Grand Junction location is performing at market share or better.
Native Roots employees celebrate the store’s open with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in December 2023 as the fourth recreational marijuana shop in Grand Junction to officially open.
Colorado Weedery was the second location to open in Grand Junction.
“I had a pretty good idea of what the general gross market for cannabis sales in that area would be, and so we’re right on par with what we anticipated,” Loughman said.
Adding eight new stores in Grand Junction to the two stores in Palisade has diluted the market, Loughman said, but that was to be expected.
Loughman is thankful for the luck of that lottery draw.
“I’m happy with where we’re at in Grand Junction, and obviously I’m happy we were able to obtain one of those stores in Grand Junction,” Loughman said. “It would be pretty tough to be in that position otherwise, but that’s the reality. That’s how it works.”
Loughman said the Colorado Weedery has been able to keep hold of many of its regular customers, but a lot of the market is convenience-driven.
“We’re definitely missing the transient traffic now with people coming down I-70,” he said. “That was a considerable part of our business in Palisade. Our business in Grand Junction is more set up for the local business rather than the tourist business, so we’ve seen a little bit of change there.”
Photos by Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel
A colorful painted mural inside the Grand Junction Greenery welcomes customers to the third retail marijuana dispensary to open in Grand Junction.
“It’s interesting as the market stabilizes there to see what’s going on,” Loughman added.
One store that opened in late October, The Buzz at North Avenue and Third Street, embraced a different aspect of convenience.
As the seventh store to open, The Buzz is the only dispensary with a drive thru option.
Grand Junction capping the number of licenses at 10 has helped the stores that have opened maintain their market shares, Loughman said.
Welch said the city’s overall marijuana revenue per month has also been stabilizing.
“In the first part of the year, we were just getting ramped up and those businesses that got the authorization for licenses were just getting ramped up, some opened up sooner rather than others,” Welch said.
Kai Dispensary, at 914 South Ave., was granted one of the longest extensions since it is the only store that built a facility from the ground up. It’s looking at an early 2025 opening.
Lucky Me Dispensary, 2648 Patterson Road, opened in October 2023.
Colorado Weedery, 879 Struthers Ave., opened in November 2023.
Grand Junction Greenery, 762 Horizon Drive, opened in November 2023.
Native Roots, 683 Horizon Drive Unit 110, opened in November 2023.
The Garage, 545 Colorado Avenue, opened in April 2024.
The Green Horizon, 739 Horizon Drive, opened in July 2024.
The Buzz, 1033 N. Third Street, opened in October 2024.
Canna Care, 250 Fisher Ave., opened in November 2024.
The final two recreational marijuana lottery winners, Kai Dispensary at 914 South Ave. and The Golden Rookie, located at 650 Grand Ave. have 2025 planned openings.
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