Pubdate: Fri, 12 Jun 2015
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2015 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Ricardo Baca

RETAIL POT SALES LEVEL OFF; TAXES FOR SCHOOLS SURGE

After four consecutive months of record-setting growth, sales of 
recreational pot in Colorado leveled off in April - the same month 
pot taxes earmarked for school construction capital reached an 
all-time high, according to new Department of Revenue data.

Around $42.4 million of recreational pot was sold in Colorado in 
April, down from $42.7 million in March - the first decline in retail 
marijuana sales in the state in five months. Meanwhile April's 
medical sales, which totaled $31.9 million in Colorado dispensaries, 
were nearly identical to March's tallies.

One April statistic set an all-time record: the excise taxes 
collected for school construction capital. More than $3.1 million was 
raised via the excise tax on wholesale marijuana transfers in April, 
up from the previous record of $2.6 million, set in March. These 
monthly taxes earmarked for schools never topped $2 million in 2014 - 
but they've already raised more than $10 million in the first four 
months of 2015, compared with only $13.3 million in all of 2014.

"It's really good to see the excise tax increasing and providing 
needed money for the public school construction fund," said Christian 
Sederberg, a partner at the cannabis-focused Denver law firm Vicente 
Sederberg and one of the authors of Colorado's pot-legalizing Amendment 64.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom