Colorado is making so much money from cannabis it's having to give some back to citizens
Residents could see a share of the $50 million collected
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Colorado's marijuana experiment has been an empirically rousing success thus far, with crime down and tourism up, and now the state has collected so much money in tax from sales of pot that it might be legally obliged to give some back.
The state constitution puts a cap on the amount of tax money that can be taken in before some has to be returned, meaning Coloradans could see a share of the $50 million generated by sales of recreational cannabis.
"I think it's appropriate that we keep the money for marijuana that the voters said that we should," said Republican Senate President Bill Cadman.
"This is a little bit of a different animal. There's a struggle on this one," added Sen. Kevin Grantham, one of the Republican budget writers.
Coloradans may be asked to vote on making marijuana exempt from the tax cap - the money instead being ploughed into more drug education and police training to spot stoned drivers, as marijuana legalisation is designed to pay for itself without dipping into general taxes.
Last month, a Denver police chief confirmed that a year after legalisation "everything is fine", crime has continued to drop and police are going about their business as usual.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments