In Colorado, not as many people are buying
recreational pot as predicted. And that
means the high tax revenues state lawmakers thought would be rolling in are
not.
With seemingly everyone wanting a cut of Colorado’s
pot taxes, for the first time, the joint budget committee took up the debate
over how to dole the dollars out. And new numbers show sales aren’t quite the
what the state expected.
Not only are sales lower than projected, so too are
the number of businesses approved to sell it.
The state expected to approve one-hundred-ten
businesses the first month.
Only about half that number, 59, were approved as of
February 1.
“They missed the mark and so the volatility
unpredictability of this revenue stream is why I think responsible prudent
thing to do is spend these moneys in rears looking at last year’s actual
collection,” Pat Steadman, (D) Co. General Assembly said.
Meaning they won’t spend money they don’t have yet,
except this year.
The budget committee will create a mini-budget for
the tax dollars collected in the first six months – an estimated 20-million
dollars.
Far below the 54-million the governor budgeted for.
Like the governor, the committee plans to put much
of the money toward prevention programs to protect kids.
But, the legislature will have the final say.
“If there’s going to be amendments, feeding
frenzies, shopping sprees, and lots of lobbying that goes on around this so be
it,” Steadman said.
However, Danielle Lei, an enterprising Girl Scout, sold more than 100 boxes of cookies in just two hours
outside of a San Francisco medical marijuana dispensary last week.
But the Girl
Scouts of Colorado leadership is killing the buzz for local members, saying
that Colorado scouts cannot likewise sell cookies in front of pot shops,
despite recreational marijuana being legal in the state.
"Our position is really pretty simple,"
Rachelle Trujillo, chief marketing officer for the Girl Scouts of Colorado,
told The Huffington Post.
"For years in our council, we've said it's not
appropriate for Girl Scouts to sell cookies outside of adult-oriented
businesses, and marijuana dispensaries fall right in line with this policy.
There's a place for everything, and just like a liquor store or a gun show, a
marijuana dispensary isn't a place for young girls to be selling cookies.
There
are plenty of other options for customers of adult businesses to purchase
cookies at other locations."
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