Pubdate: Thu, 21 Aug 2014
Source: Westword (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2014 Village Voice Media
Website: http://www.westword.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1616
Author: William Breathes

THE TAXES ON RECREATIONAL POT ARE CRAZY!

Dear Stoner: These taxes are nuts. I just paid like $25 in tax on a
quarter of bud. Colorado is going to have some shiny new schools next
year, huh?

Dank Dad

Dear DD: While pot paving our preschools with gold-lined bricks and
all classrooms having Google-headquarters-level technology doesn't
seem far off given the tax rate on recreational pot, don't hold your
breath. The 15 percent excise tax that voters agreed to when they
approved Amendment 64 specifically covers wholesale sales from growers
to dispensaries. But because the state has delayed the opening of
grow-only facilities until at least the fall in favor of forcing
dispensaries to grow their own supply, as they've had to do with
medical cannabis, the taxes collected have been much lower than
anticipated. In six months of recreational sales, with consumers
buying more than $117 million worth of pot, only $3.98 million has
been raised for schools through the 15 percent excise tax. Instead,
the real moneymaker for the state has been through the 10 percent
special excise tax on all recreational marijuana sales. That generated
nearly $12 million between January and July 1, according to Colorado
Department of Revenue records. Add to that the regular 2.9 percent
sales tax, and the state has cleared nearly $15 million in six months
on recreational pot alone. That money isn't earmarked for kids,
though: It goes to law enforcement, treatment programs and local
governments. (Denver has received about $1 million of that money so
far.)

The good news is that the excise-tax figures have generally been
increasing and will no doubt jump much higher once grow-only
operations begin selling cannabis wholesale to dispensaries next year.
But in the meantime, don't expect to see a new playground at your
kid's school.

Dear Stoner: Am I okay to be smoking cannabis in Colorado if I'm not
an American?
Andrew From Oz

G'day, Andrew: There are two sides to this - legal and reality.
Legally, you can be deported for admitting to smoking cannabis, even
if it was only once back when you were in college. It happens to
Canadians at the border more often than most people realize. But
state laws do protect you in Colorado, at least as much as they
protect anyone. If you're here on a work visa (like most ski-bumming
Aussies are in Colorado), keep in mind that you can still be fired
from your job for smoking weed - and that can directly impact your
work visa and your ability to continue to enjoy Colorado's fine
scenery and greenery.
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MAP posted-by: Matt