Pubdate: Thu, 20 Feb 2014
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2014 The Associated Press
Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/send-a-letter/
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author: Kristen Wyatt, The Associated Press

TAX REVENUE FROM POT OUTGROWS EXPECTATIONS

Colorado State Will Spend Some Funds on Substance Abuse Prevention

DENVER (AP) - Colorado's legal marijuana market is far exceeding tax 
expectations, according to a budget proposal released Wednesday by 
Gov. John Hickenlooper that gives the first official estimate of how 
much the state expects to make from pot taxes.

The proposal outlines plans to spend $99 million next fiscal year on 
substance abuse prevention, youth marijuana use prevention and other 
priorities. The money would come from a statewide 12.9 percent sales 
tax on recreational pot. Colorado's total pot sales next fiscal year 
were estimated to be about $610 million.

Retail sales began Jan. 1 in Colorado. Sales have been strong, though 
exact figures for January sales won't be made public until early next month.

The governor predicted sales and excise taxes next fiscal year would 
produce $98 million, well above a $70 million annual estimate given 
to voters when they approved the pot taxes last year. The governor 
also includes taxes from medical pot, which are subject only to the 
statewide 2.9 percent sales tax.

Washington state budget forecasters released a projection Wednesday 
for that state, where retail sales don't begin for a few months.

Economic forecasters in Olympia predicted that the state's new legal 
recreational marijuana market will bring nearly $190 million to state 
coffers over four years starting in mid-2015. Washington state sets 
budgets biennially.

In Colorado, Hickenlooper's proposal listed six priorities for 
spending the pot sales taxes.

The spending plan included $45.5 million for youth use prevention, 
$40.4 million for substance abuse treatment and $12.4 million for 
public health.

"We view our top priority as creating an environment where negative 
impacts on children from marijuana legalization are avoided 
completely," Hickenlooper wrote in a letter to legislative budget 
writers, which must approve the plan.

Mason Tvert, a legalization activist who ran Colorado's 2012 campaign 
on the issue, said other states are watching closely to see what 
legal weed can produce in tax revenue.

"Voters and state lawmakers around the country are watching how this 
system unfolds in Colorado, and the prospect of generating 
significant revenue while eliminating the underground marijuana 
market is increasingly appealing," said Tvert, who now works for the 
Marijuana Policy Project.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom