Amendment 64 – Treating Marijuana Like Alcohol Could Generate $100 Million in 5 Years

November will be here before you know it and once again on the ballot will be measures to legalize recreational use of  marijuana for adults.

If that actually happens this fall bringing what Breckenridge voters said yes to in 2009 statewide. It could generate over $60 million a year in tax dollars for the Centennial State. A report for the Colorado Center on Law and Policy states that legal marijuana use for adults would bring in at least $32 million in taxes for the state and 14 million in local taxes.

It would save as much as $12 million dollars each year for local law enforcement plus save them a lot of time. The current penalty for possession of two ounces or less is a petty crime with a $100 fine. With everyone concerned about schools their budgets at least $24 million has been dedicated towards new school construction. The report also says that $60 million dollars in new revenue for the state could become $100 million or more in five years.

The proposal to regulate marijuana like alcohol includes a 15% wholesale tax on non-medical marijuana which has been generating tax dollars for over a decade. Except of course in 'dry' cities and counties that have banned retail sales of the medicine. On top of the wholesale tax would be regular state and local taxes.

An overwhelming majority of arrests for marijuana are possession related offences