In Colorado, marijuana growers monopolize warehouses

The marijuana industry is growing rapidly, but not everyone is thrilled about it. In Denver, Colorado, warehouse space is becoming scarce.

The government, which has legalized the recreational use of marijuana in 2012, saw legal sales approach 700 million $ in 2014. But growing and storing all that marijuana requires a great deal of physical space and could become a problem for Denver, which is a major hub for freight shipping and warehousing companies operating between Southern California and Kansas City.

«Everything is consumed by marijuana»

Companies looking to expand are having trouble finding affordable space. «Everything’s being snapped up by the marijuana industry,» says Steve Badgley, the head of a construction firm, in the Wall Street Journal.

Of course, not everyone is unhappy about this trend. One-third of Colorado’s new warehouses over the past 18 months was leased to cannabis producers or distributors, according to a global real estate agency. In the warehouse market, rental rates rose by 10% in 2014, and purchase costs have doubled since the beginning of 2015.

«It's as if all warehouses between 700 and 2,000 m² were converted into cannabis farm. »We have no choice but to turn down some customer requests due to a lack of space,” admits Tom Glaspern, director of a logistics company in Denver.