Colorado State flag with Marijuana in it
By Hailey Lederer
Since Colorado legalized marijuana in November of 2012, it has been making an interesting impact within its communities. The state allocates around $40 million in cannabis tax money into the BEST (Building Excellent Schools Today) program every year. The program is expected to fund nearly $300 million in school projects and repairs.
Though the funding will not solve every school’s problems, with it only amounting to less that 1% of the states budget, the legalization still provides more than $150 million a year, and not a single school district has objected or refused the money offered to them.
Recently in 2016, the state even raised an additional $117 million through marijuana revenues from license and application fees, sales taxes, and excise tax. The extra money was mainly collected towards the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund, largely used for education, drug treatment, health care, and law enforcement programs. This legalization has also been generating more tourism for years now, helping local businesses and companies make money and employment for others.
Many look forward to the good that can continue to come from this simple system and hopefully other states following in Colorado’s steps will find similar success in helping to improve quality of living in their communities.
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