News

The Sky Isn’t Falling

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There are no “significant issues as a result of legalization,” said Larry Wolk, Colorado’s chief health officer. And this is true across the board, he said.  

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Listen to Wolk’s interview with a radio morning-show broadcast on Prince Edward Island in Canada here.  

Colorado Cannabis Tax Money Aimed at Solving Teacher Shortages

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The $10 million was earmarked to take on the problems of hiring and retaining teachers in Colorado by Gov. John Hickenlooper in his proposed 2018-19 budget released earlier this month. Suggested solutions include boosting salaries and streamlining the licensing process.

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Americans Opinions have Changed on Marijuana Legalization

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For the first time, a majority of Americans – including registered Republicans – support legalizing marijuana. Overall, 64 percent of Americans now support legalization, the highest percentage ever reported in Gallup polling.

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Colorado marijuana sales hit $1 billion in first eight months of 2017

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Colorado’s legal marijuana industry generated a record $1 billion in sales during the first eight months of 2017, producing more than $160 million in taxes and fees for critical Colorado services.

With more than $1.02 billion in collective medical and recreational sales through August, sales are up 21 percent from the same period last year, according to The Cannabist, the marijuana news portal of The Denver Post, which analyzed state tax data released last week.

This equates to more than $162 million in taxes and fees for the state, which has received more than half a billion dollars in tax revenue since the first marijuana retail store opened its doors three-and-a-half-years ago.

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November Events 

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ICYMI:  Colorado Leads in the News….

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Pot industry to hold political fundraiser for party in opposition, The Daily Sentinel 

It’s time to look beyond the clichés as cannabis comes of age in Colorado, Colorado Politics

Progress: Big and Small 

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Longmont City Council lifts cannabis ban, approving an ordinance allowing up to four retail businesses to sell marijuana and marijuana products within the city limits. Read the story here.

LEADership

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Colorado’s Native Roots jumped into the national fundraising effort aimed at helping the victims of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, contributing supplies and donating $15,750.  Calling Sept. 15th  “5 percent Donation Day,” the company earmarked the percentage of revenue from all 19 of its retail locations across Colorado for hurricane relief.  Read more in The Denver Post.

Home Sweet Home 

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Legalization of marijuana does not negatively impact home values, and in some cases, positively impacts home values, according to  first-of-its-kind study of Denver by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison  University of Georgia and California State University.  If you don’t want to read the whole study, here are your Top Five Takeaways:

  1. Property values have risen faster within 528 feet of medical marijuana shops that added or converted to recreational marijuana.
  2. Home values increased 8.4 percent, an average of about $27,000, since Jan. 1, 2014, when recreational marijuana joined the medical marketplace in Denver. Overall home prices in Denver have risen 6 percent since legalization.
  3. Home values located more than .1 miles away from a retail shop are not impacted positively or negatively.
  4. Some underlying factors may have contributed to the increased property values in vicinities closest to dispensaries, including lower crime rates, additional amenities nearby and a surge in housing demand because of Denver’s growing marijuana sector.
  5. In addition to business and sales taxes, municipalities may get an extra boost from increased property taxes.

Words of the Week: Legitimate and Legal  

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“(The cannabis industry) donates to all four caucuses, which is kind of what you expect in this world from a legitimate, legal industry that is arguably the most heavily regulated and heavily taxed in the entire state,” he said. “They are looking to make sure that they have a voice in the Capitol, and to find that they donate to Republicans and Democrats and senators and representative across the board and across the spectrum should not surprise anyone.” Senate President Kevin Grantham, a Cañon City Republican.

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