When Colorado Harvest Company opened its doors as one of the state’s first legal recreational dispensaries in 2014, a lot of questions were raised about the future. One of the biggest concerns from both regulators and the public was how the legalization of adult-use cannabis would impact our youth.
More than a decade later, the data is in—and the results speak for themselves.
According to the 2025 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS), released recently by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), teen marijuana use and youth access to cannabis have both seen dramatic, sustained declines since legalization.
At Colorado Harvest Company, we have always believed that a transparent, strictly regulated market is the best way to keep cannabis out of the hands of minors. Today, the numbers prove that the system is working.
By the Numbers: A Decade of Decline
The biannual HKCS surveys over 134,000 middle and high school students across the state. The 2025 findings highlight a massive shift in youth consumption habits, placing Colorado's teen use rates significantly below the national average.
| Metric | Pre-Legalization (2011/2013) | Latest Data (2025) | The Shift |
| High School Use (Past 30 Days) | 22.0% (2011) | 9.7% | ↓ 56% decrease |
| Middle School Use (Past 30 Days) | 5.1% (2013) | 1.5% | ↓ 70% decrease |
| Perceived Ease of Access | 54.9% (2013) | 33.5% | ↓ 39% decrease |
Note: For context, the national average for high school cannabis use currently sits at 17%, according to the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
The Power of a Regulated Market
These dropping rates are not an accident. They are the direct result of a highly regulated industry taking its responsibilities seriously.
Before 2014, the unregulated legacy market didn't check IDs. Today, licensed dispensaries like ours operate under stringent security protocols. The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division recently reported that the state’s regulated marijuana businesses maintain a staggering 99% compliance rate with laws prohibiting underage sales.
Chuck Smith, CEO of Colorado Leads, an alliance of cannabis business leaders dedicated to safe regulation and economic growth, highlighted exactly why this matters:
"We are extremely pleased to see the rate of cannabis use among teens in Colorado continues to decline and remains lower than the national average. More than a decade after legalization, Colorado continues to demonstrate that a well-regulated cannabis market can successfully reduce underage access and protect public health."