John Ingold of the Denver Post writes Colorado recreational marijuana sales, taxes boomed in April. So far this year Colorado has earned $11 million in recreational marijuana taxes, and $18 million in medicinal marijuana tax revenue.
Colorado recorded its biggest recreational marijuana tax haul yet in April, topping more than $3.5 million in sales and excise taxes, according to numbers released Monday.
In all, the state's recreational marijuana stores sold more than $22 million worth of product in April, likely boosted by the 4/20 marijuana holiday that brought hundreds of cannabis tourists to town. Overall, though, medical marijuana sales continued to outpace recreational sales, with lower-taxed medical-marijuana stores doing more than $31 million in sales during the month.
Consumer advocates are suing the state on the grounds that the marijuana taxes are unconstitutionally high (no pun intended.) After 15% across the board excise tax, at the wholesale level, an additional 12.9% is assessed at the retail level. State law says marijuana is supposed to taxed at the same level as alcohol, which the advocates say is much lower.
The state did not provide estimates of how much the state has saved by not arresting, prosecuting, and incarcerating marijuana users, or how much it continues to spend by their governor not commuting the sentences of those in state prisons for non-violent marijuana offenses.
Good people, like you an me, are having their lives, and the lives of their dependent children and loved ones devastated by cruel and archaic drug laws.
Just say no to Americas' insane drug laws. President Obama and state governors should be pardoning the majority of our 50% of our prisoners who are incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses.
The president has used drugs, and had he been poor, or at the wrong place at the wrong time and been arrested, unable to get college loans he could be rotting in prison like many of his "brothers and sisters" are. Or sleeping under a bridge unable to get subsidized housing. This is stupid, morally wrong, and hypocritical for those of us not in jail, by the grace of God, or because we live in wealthy suburbs, or because of the color of our skin.
Let's not give in to the fierce hypocrisy of political expediency or give historians the opportunity to write this as our history - that we looked the other way and did nothing. First they came for the drug users, and we did nothing.
President Obama should be making a "legacy list" of improvements he can make to America, without the cooperation of the Republicans. I can think of few finer things than helping to free the almost 1 million of of the 2.2 million Americans who are in jail for drug offenses, at a cost of $50,000 per prisoner per year.
Please do not forget your brothers and sisters who are rotting in jail, their families, and loved ones as well. Many of their children pray to God every night that President Obama will pardon, their parents, and order his DOJ and DEA to stop the atrocities of continuing to arrest and incarcerate more people every day.
