i Thirteenth Census of the United States 1910: Volume 5. Agriculture. Retrieved from http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/AgCensusImages/1910/05/01/1832/41033898v5ch07.pdf

ii NORML. Marijuana Law Reform Timeline. Retrieved from https://norml.org/shop/item/marijuana-law-reform-timeline

iii In 1970, cannabis was added to the newly-enacted Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule I drug, which made both marijuana and industrial hemp federally illegal. For more information, see https://norml.org/shop/item/marijuana-law-reform-timeline

iv Ibid.

v Warner, Joel. (2010, May 28). Medical marijuana timeline: What a long, strange trip it’s been. Retrieved from https://www.westword.com/news/medical-marijuana-timeline-what-a-long-strange-trip-its-been-5825542; Marijuana Policy Project (2019, October 19). 2019 Marijuana Policy Reform Legislation. Retrieved from https://www.mpp.org/issues/legislation/key-marijuana-policy-reform/; National Conference of State Legislatures. Marijuana Deep Dive. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/bookstore/state-legislatures-magazine/marijuana-deep-dive.aspx

vi National Conference of State Legislatures. (2019, October 16). State Medical Marijuana Laws. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-medical-marijuana-laws.aspx; Cole, James M. (2013, August 29) Guidance Regarding Marijuana Enforcement. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/resources/3052013829132756857467.pdf

vii Though DOJ guidance was rescinded in a January 2018 memo, legislation had been passed in 2014 to prevent federal funding from being used to prevent states from implementing and managing state medical marijuana programs. For more information, see: U.S. Department of Justice. (2018, January) Justice Department Issues Memo on Marijuana Enforcement. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-issues-memo-marijuana-enforcement; Strekal, Justin. (2017, July 27). Senate Committee Passes Amendment to Protect Medical Marijuana. Retrieved from https://blog.norml.org/2017/07/27/senate-committee-passes-amendment-to-protect-medical-marijuana/

viii Governing. State Marijuana Laws in 2019 Map. Retrieved from https://www.governing.com/gov-data/safety-justice/state-marijuana-laws-map-medical-recreational.html

ix Ibid.

x The USDA provides additional information on the 2018 Farm Bill here: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-bill/index.

xi For additional information on potential costs of marijuana, see our previous Rocky Mountain Economist on Colorado’s marijuana market here: https://www.kansascityfed.org/publications/research/rme/articles/2018/rme-1q-2018.

xii In August 2019, non-seasonally adjusted recreational marijuana sales totaled $141,869,549. Total non-seasonally adjusted marijuana sales during August were $173,2019,859.

xiii Dispensary counts are estimated using current business licensing data from Colorado Department of Revenue Enforcement Division. For more information, see https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/enforcement/med-licensed-facilities

xiv The majority of stores in El Paso County are in Colorado Springs, which only issues business licenses to medical marijuana businesses. For more information, see https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/Local%20Authority%20Status%20List%2001102019%20CURRENT%20VERSION.pdf

xv Population estimate as of July 1, 2018. Census Bureau.

xvi Wallace, Alicia. (2018, February 9). Recreational marijuana sales highest per capita in Colorado’s southern border towns. Retrieved from https://www.thecannabist.co/2018/02/09/colorado-marijuana-sales-southern-border/98669/

xvii Marijuana Business Daily. (2019, May 29) New Colorado law allows outsiders to invest in state’s marijuana industry. Retrieved from https://mjbizdaily.com/new-colorado-law-allows-outsiders-to-invest-in-states-marijuana-industry/

xviii Mitchell, Thomas. (2019, May 2) Marijuana Consumption and Hospitality Businesses Passes Legislature. Retrieved from https://www.westword.com/marijuana/colorado-legislature-approves-marijuana-cafes-lounges-and-social-use-areas-11331200

xix Flowers, Andrew. (2019, August 8). Cannabis Jobs in the U.S. Quadruple since 2016. Retrieved from https://www.hiringlab.org/2019/08/08/us-cannabis-jobs/; Barcott, Bruce. (2019, March 4). As of 2019, legal cannabis has created 211,000 full-time jobs in America. Retrieved from https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/legal-cannabis-jobs-report-2019

xx Colorado occupational licenses are valid for two years from issue date, therefore there is a lag in seeing occupational displacement due to declining business licenses.

xxi Support occupational licenses cannot be used for managerial employment whereas key occupational licenses do include managerial and supervisory positions.

xxii Starting Jan. 1, 2020, all key and support occupational licenses will be converted to a single category called an employee license. Owner licenses will remain separate. For more information, see https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/enforcement/med-occupational-license-industry-employees.

xxiii For more information, see Marijuana Policy Group, Light et al. The Economic Impact of Marijuana Legalization in Colorado. October 2016.

xxiv Direct employment in the marijuana industry includes employment directly in marijuana businesses, whereas indirect employment includes employment generated to support the marijuana industry, such as security services and legal services. In 2018, Leafly estimated that there were 4,723 indirect marijuana jobs in Colorado. For more information, see https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/legal-cannabis-jobs-report-2019

xxv Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (seasonally adjusted numbers).

xxvi For more information, see the Colorado Department of Revenue here: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/tax/marijuana-taxes-file.

xxvii Ibid.

xxviii For more detail, see the Colorado Department of Education’s website here: http://www.cde.state.co.us/communications/2019marijuanarevenue

xxix Ibid.

xxx Of the 15 percent sales tax applied to recreational marijuana, 15.56 percent of the 90 percent tax collections held by the state government is retained in the general fund.

xxxi For more information, see https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2019/08/forecasts-hazy-for-state-marijuana-revenue

xxxii For additional information on potential costs of marijuana, see our previous Rocky Mountain Economist on Colorado’s marijuana market here: https://www.kansascityfed.org/publications/research/rme/articles/2018/rme-1q-2018.

xxxiii There is a similar study done by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System that shows similar results. The data can be found here: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/marijuanahealthinfo/brfss-data.

xxxiv It is important to note that although the average usage for 12 to 17 year olds has fallen, survey sampling issues cause these averages to have a fairly wide 95 percent confidence ban. A recent study using the same NSDUH data stated that marijuana use in 12 to 17 year olds in 2002 to 2005 fell from 10.5 percent to 9.0 percent in 2014 to 2017, however this change was not statistically significant. For more information, see: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Behavioral Health Barometer: Colorado, Volume 5: Indicators as measured through the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services. HHS Publication No. SMA-19-Baro-17-CO. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2019.

xxxv It is possible that a rise in usage following legalization was due to diminished fears over an individual self-reporting that they use an illegal drug, as survey users may have felt a higher reluctance to report usage prior to legalization.

xxxvi Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/marijuanahealthinfo/brfss-data.

xxxvii Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, Department of Public Safety. Offense/Arrest/Court Filing Data from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, National Incident-Based Reporting System: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dcj-ors/Offense/Arrest/CourtFiling.

xxxviii Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, Department of Public Safety. Driving Under the Influence. Data from the Colorado State Patrol: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dcj-ors/driving-under-influence.

xxxix Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. “The Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado: The Impact.” Volume 6, September 2019. Data specifically from: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2006 – 2011 and Colorado Department of Transportation 2012-2018.

xl Ibid.

xli The Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE Banking Act) was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in September 2019, which aims to secure and broaden access to payment and banking systems for marijuana businesses. This legislation is currently pending U.S. Senate review. For more information, see: https://mjbizdaily.com/historic-day-us-house-passes-cannabis-banking-bill-with-strong-bipartisan-support/

xlii For more information, see: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/11/14/americans-support-marijuana-legalization/