Colorado Shop Owners Can't Keep Marijuana Edibles in Stock

Pot is now legal in Colorado, in all its forms.

ByABC News
January 17, 2014, 2:00 PM

Jan. 17, 2014— -- Colorado residents may wind up with "pot bellies" if they keep filling up on marijuana edibles at this pace.

Ever since recreational marijuana sales began in the state on Jan. 1, many shop owners said they have been unable to keep pot-infused candies, cookies and sodas in stock.

Read More: A Stoner's Guide to Legalized Marijuana Sales in Colorado

"Edibles have been really huge with the recreational market," Linda Andrews, owner of LoDo Wellness Center in Denver, told ABCNews.com. "They're great if you're not a [marijuana] connoisseur and you want something more palatable," she said. "And they are certainly more discreet."

Andrews estimates edible sales are up 300 percent at her store, which previously only served medical marijuana patients.

Among the most popular items are marijuana-infused chocolate bars, which she said are sold in a pack of four for $15 and chewy, chocolaty Dixie Rolls, which sell for $17 a pack.

In order to keep the products on the shelves, Andrews said she has had to impose a two edible purchase limit per customer until manufacturers can catch up with demand.

"We got a new supply in last week and sold out in an hour," she said.

Joe Hodas, chief marketing officer for Dixie Elixirs and Edibles, a top marijuana edibles manufacturer, said the company is building a new 30,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and warehouse to keep up with Coloradoans' insatiable appetites.

"Demand's been huge," Hodas told ABC News' Denver affiliate KMGH-TV. "And our employees have been just killing it working 'round the clock."

Garrett Sellars shows an edible to Ashly Carius, both of Oklahoma City, at LoDo Wellness. The first day of retail sales of marijuana in Colorado was Jan. 1, 2014.
PHOTO: Tripp Keber, CEO of Dixie Elixir, runs the Denver-based medical marijuana company that produces medicated and non-medicated food items, beverages and salves, May 24, 2012.
Tripp Keber, CEO of Dixie Elixir, runs the Denver-based medical marijuana company that produces medicated and non-medicated food items, beverages and salves. A company spokesman said employees are working around the clock to meet demand ever since recreational sales were legalized on Jan. 1, 2014.
PHOTO: This  April 11, 2013 photo shows Matt Brown, co-owner of Denver's new "My 420 Tours," looking over a sampling of marijuana edibles at a dispensary in Denver.
Matt Brown, co-owner of Denver's new "My 420 Tours," looks over a sampling of marijuana edibles at a dispensary in Denver on April 11, 2013. While shop owners have said edibles were popular in the medical market, sales have spiked ever since recreational marijuana was legalized this year.
Denver-based medical marijuana company, Dixie Elixir produces medicated and non-medicated food items, beverages and salves.