Last verified: March 2026

Colorado's Cannabis Farming Powerhouse

Pueblo County became Colorado's cannabis farming capital thanks to a perfect combination of abundant sunshine, cheap real estate, and welcoming local government. The county grows approximately one-fifth of all legally cultivated cannabis in Colorado, making it the state's most productive cannabis agricultural region.

Cannabis revitalized an economically struggling community. Pueblo's traditional steel industry had long since declined, and cannabis cultivation created hundreds of jobs in cultivation, processing, and retail. The local government embraced the industry, providing the regulatory certainty that cultivators needed to invest in long-term operations.

The Cannabis Scholarship Program

Pueblo's most remarkable achievement is the nation's first cannabis-funded college scholarship program. In 2015, Pueblo County voters approved an excise tax on cannabis cultivation, with proceeds dedicated to scholarships for local high school graduates. By 2018, 564 Pueblo County high school graduates had received $624,000 in scholarships, funded entirely by cannabis tax revenue.

This program demonstrated that cannabis tax revenue could be directed toward community investment in ways that built broad public support — a model that other jurisdictions have studied and adapted.

CSU-Pueblo Institute of Cannabis Research

Colorado State University-Pueblo hosts the Institute of Cannabis Research, the first state-funded cannabis research center in the United States. The Institute publishes the peer-reviewed Journal of Cannabis Studies and conducts research on cannabis agriculture, public health, economics, and policy. This academic infrastructure gives Pueblo a unique identity in the Colorado cannabis landscape.

Visiting Pueblo for Cannabis

Pueblo sits along I-25 about an hour south of Colorado Springs and two hours south of Denver. At roughly 4,700 feet elevation, it's lower than Denver, which means slightly less altitude amplification of cannabis effects. Dispensaries serve both local consumers and travelers passing through on I-25.