Colorado marijuana dispensaries made sky-rocketing sales in the first week of weed being legal for recreational use. The 37 new dispensaries in the state reported first week retail sales, and when added together, were around $5 million!

Since Colorado legalized marijuana for recreational use and retail, the state has estimated nearly $600 million in combined wholesale and retail marijuana sales annually. and expects to collect nearly $70 million in tax revenue from ganja sales this year. The first day legal marijuana shops were allowed to open combined sales exceeded $1 million. Interest was said to have dropped in the days that followed.

“Every day that we’ve been in business since Jan. 1 has been better than my best day of business ever,” -said Andy Williams, owner of Denver’s Medicine Man dispensary.

Larger shops sold from 50 pounds to 60 pounds of marijuana in the first week. Smaller shops sold 20 pounds to 30 pounds.

Colorado state law, says: residents may legally buy up to one ounce of marijuana in a transaction. Tourists can purchase up to one-fourth ounce.

The initial rush to buy legal Marijuana was so great that many shops put a cap on the amount each customer could buy.

The state taxed 25% on marijuana retail purchases, also a 15% excise tax and a 10% sales tax.

Shop owners said sales were biggest the first day, since then sales have dropped about 50%.

An eighth of weed was selling for about $65 the first of the year, according to Marijuana.com.

But still, Marijuana continues to be illegal on a federal level meaning banks won’t accept marijuana businesses for traditional bank accounts, and retailers can’t take advantage of traditional business tax write-offs.

“People think we all became millionaires,” Ortega said. “But as a business owner, I can’t write anything off for the last three years.”

Most of the major banks said they are afraid they could be implicated as money launderers if they offer traditional banking services to Marijuana businesses.

Marijuana businesses usually can’t accept credit cards, forcing them to carry-out their transactions in cash. They say that’s a burden for taxes and payroll, and a safety risk.

Monday night, Denver City Council strongly recommended the banks grant Colorado marijuana businesses access to the federal banking system, so they can use the same banking services as other businesses.

Rep. Ed Perlmutter, is looking for reformed access to banks for marijuana businesses with his “Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act (H.R. 2652)”, which would create protection from federal law for banks that offer services to state-sanctioned marijuana-related businesses.

“The banking legislation sponsored by Congressman Ed Perlmutter is a common sense approach to bring financial legitimacy to the legal marijuana industry,”- said Denver City Councilman Albus Brooks. “It’s ludicrous and unsustainable to force large neighborhood businesses to operate entirely with cash. Congress needs to act, and act now.”

On Monday The Wall Street Journal said: the Department of Justice is also trying to put together legal guidance on how banks can work with marijuana businesses in states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use.