Actually, it isn't bringing in all that much tax revenue. Under 2% of Colorado's tax revenue comes from Pot taxes. And schools, you know the ones who were supposed to see the money, many have seen no taxes come in from Pot and those that have, take Jefferson County (largest in the State) have seen $500,000. That $500,000 sounds like a lot until you realize the District's budget is over $1 billion. The big tax revenue being brought in meme is false.

Oh, and I doubt anything changes in Colorado. The federal government already enforces Pot laws in the state. If you are caught with it on federal land you are ticketed and fined. And you may not realize it, but a large portion of Colorado is federal land. Including every major ski resort in the state.

I know you're being sarcastic about Trump's business & economic acumen. After all, this is a guy who had to call his aides to find out if a strong or weak dollar was good for the economy.
Trump is a good salesman and marketer. The problem is that once you sell something, eventually you have to deliver. That's something he can't seem to grasp or be able to do and that's why he keeps going back to the campaign rallies, because all he's comfortable with and good at is selling the Trump Brand.

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Remember - It's important to be comfortable in your own skin... because it turns out society frowns on wearing other people's

getting caught with a small amount of pot gets you a misdemeanor. Dealers? Even in Colorado, land of legalization illegal growers and dealers are regularly busted and go to jail. Oh, and a lot of our illegal dealers are... you guessed it, illegals from Mexico. And most of them are bad dudes with ties to the drug lords in Mexico. I guess we should give them a ticket and send them on their way?

I think it is a stupid focus. With that said, I know a little more than most about the medical and legal marijuana dispensary business as I was offered a controller position after several interviews and my own experience.

Many of the so called licensed legal providers of medical or legal marijuana had cartel ties. You see, in every case I'm aware of with states. The growe me and distributors muse be a holder of he limited licenses/franchises granted by a state. License growers and dispensaries are often the same with the business structured around those two entities. Should a dispenser/grower chain fall short of product, they can obtain additional product from other growers in the state. The movement of product from earth to register must be accounted for.

Man of the dispensaries that had been raided were falling short on licensed product and introducing cartel inventorty to the chain. A big no-no in the industry. My guess is this will remain the target.

I'll tell you what though. Big weed has become a lobbying force and will likely survive this. But I'm certainly glad I didn't take the job. Have no interest in being a pioneer in this industry.

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"In the world I see you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Towers. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying stripes of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway." T Durden

The laws are pretty clear in most states. There are licensed growers and licensed sellers. Many times the same. Sellers can only sell product from licensed growers and it all has to be accounted for. Any additions to the supply chain from unauthorized sources is trafficking and illegal at both state and federal levels.

In my opinion, this has been the focus and will continue to be. There is too much money in legal marijuana at a state level for them to let it go. I think this is much ado about nothing really. There is the potential for them to go after legalized states, but I think it will just expose the very strict processes that are in place designed to keep out criminal elements.

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"In the world I see you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Towers. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying stripes of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway." T Durden

Sorry but I hate when people do this shit. You're responding to this: "This is a billion dollar business bringing in millions in tax revenue."

And you wrote this:
Actually, it isn't bringing in all that much tax revenue


ACTUALLY, it is:
http://fortune.com/...gal-marijuana-sales/

$1.3B in projected sales for 2016, with approximately $150MM in tax revenue. Nearly $50MM of which is meant to fund school construction projects. Whether or not that's happening at the state level is secondary, whether or not that's a significant percentage of the states budget is secondary. Veganerd's right: billion dollar business bringing in (tens of) millions in tax revenue.

I live in CO and I don't know how to feel about this. I read reports that more minors are using weed and some studies have shown damaging effects on developing brains (not in adults). However I also want states to have more rights and I've heard some companies and prison union are lobbying against legalizing weed solely for financial gain and that's crap.

US Banks won't take their money. Some people have suggested that part of the housing shortage is due to pot dispensary owners buying houses in cash.

I seem to recall hearing that underage use hasn't gone up?

My take on it is that people who want to find some escapism or self-medicate or whatever through drugs are going to find something to do, one way or another. Having something as an option that is pretty much benign in comparison to most other options only makes sense.

Christ how many houses are they buying?

Oh boy, $150 million in tax revenue in a state with a budget that is what? Again, it isn't the boon you make it out to be. Do you realize most of the money taken in is going to alleviate social problems that came along with legalization? Much of the money goes to treatment programs, etc. Programs that have grown in need since legalization.

What I hate is when people take a seemingly big number and turn it into something it isn't. Go into with your eyes open, legalization has worked out in Colorado but it isn't the perfect utopia people like you ore the Vegan from MN think it is. Homelessness, especially in the under 30 age group has grown. Minor use of the drug, especially among young males has grown. You may hate hit when people state facts, but I hate it when people with no on the ground knowledge of a situation take "facts" and turn them into something they are not.

No man. Your rant was about the subject line not video/article you linked. So don't let me hijack your thread about whatever you need to rant about today. Carry on.

I believe you said 2% of the budget. That's pretty sizable just for pot! I mean, a few years ago it was 0%, and pot was unequivocally a net negative line item on the budget, right? Drug enforcement, regulations, treatment, corrections, everything related to marijuana was funded through general tax receipts.


Good, I've always said that when legalizing drugs the tax revenue should go to 1. enforcement, 2. education, 3. treatment. I'm glad to see Colorado is making good use of the funds.


Source? Not saying it's not true, I just can't find any data confirming this.


I never said it was. But I also think marijuana being sold and consumed in the shadow's isn't the answer either, and thirty years of 'war on drugs' statistics bear that out. I think legalization is an important first step, but using tax revenue for enforcement, treatment and education is the most critical. There needs to be enormous penalties for illegal use or distribution, in that way you help ensure the mj being consumed isn't laced, which is a big issue. But people will always find a way to consume alcohol, consume marijuana, use heroin, ecstasy...these issues don't go away when you legalize, you simply allow for some oversight and guidance on their use.


Source? These may be true, but it may also be true that drug fiends, homeless in other states, have moved to CO, jacking up that homeless number. It may be that 20-25 year-olds thinking about a place to live for a few years are choosing CO over other options in part because of their lax marijuana laws, and so that 'minor drug use' number goes up.

EDIT to add: I'm not saying legalization is the end-all, be-all. My contention, for a LONG time, is that harsh enforcement only causes more issues: users never seek treatment for addiction and mental health problems. The market is in the shadows, run by gangs and drug cartels. The product is unregulated, and these days that's a massive issue with all the chemical 'enhancements' being found in street pot. When you bring it out of the shadows you lessen the impact of gangs/cartels, clean the product up, let users know if they have issues they can be dealt with without risk of jail time, and tax revenue can be used for good: education, treatment.

I never understood the schedule 1 nonsense. I get that it makes it a controlled substance with no medicinal value so no sales. But banning research seems counter productive.

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"In the world I see you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Towers. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying stripes of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway." T Durden

I hope you are right but the SCOTUS will be leaning right by the time this comes to them, if it does. And if he does make it illegal where it has already been legalized who is going to support the changed law? The genie is out of the bottle and he isn't going back. This will be a CF of Trumpian proportions and I would expect smoke-ins to become a rage followed by pizza-ins.

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"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

The thing is, it is already illegal. There aren't legal and illegal growers and distributers...they are all illegal. This is the fed's position...they just didn't enforce it (everywhere) under Obama. But if they decide to, they can close down every shop, seize everything, and arrest everyone today. Talk about a high risk business!

Who is "they"? They may have the authority to do all that in theory, but in reality they are severely outnumbered and don't have nearly enough court/jail space to process everyone. They could just as easily (in theory) cite every last speeder on the freeway ~ and it would probably be just about as effective in practice if they were to actually attempt it.