Colorado’s legal marijuana industry is weathering its first sustained downturn since dispensaries began selling recreational weed in 2014. Dispensaries are closing. New ventures, like delivery services and social clubs, are struggling. Tax revenues are plummeting. And across the industry, layoffs are sending marijuana workers packing. Colorado’s green boom is beginning to bust as more states […]
marijuana taxes
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Proposition 119, which would have raised Colorado marijuana taxes to pay for out-of-school learning, fails
Colorado voters on Tuesday rejected a proposal to increase taxes on recreational marijuana to pay for out-of-school support services for students like tutoring and therapy. Supporters of Proposition 119 admitted defeat at about 8:30 p.m. With more than a million ballots counted at 10 p.m., the measure was failing with 54% rejecting the initiative and […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Zornio: Colorado’s 2021 elections are too important to skip. Here are my picks
It’s the best time of year in Colorado: yellowing aspens, cool mountain air and ballots arriving effortlessly by mail. As a state, we feature one of the most robust vote-by-mail systems in the nation. Regrettably, off-cycle elections can still see a drop in turnout, and sometimes lead to changes that may not otherwise reflect the […]
Posted inCartoons, Opinion
Jim Morrissey: When campaign slogans write themselves
More cartoons from The Colorado Sun.
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Proposition 119: Colorado voters will decide whether to raise marijuana taxes to pay for out-of-school learning
Colorado voters will decide next month whether to raise taxes on recreational marijuana to help fund a new state program aimed at providing Colorado students with out-of-school learning opportunities. The program, called Learning Enrichment and Academic Progress, or LEAP, would pay service providers, like private tutoring companies or even public school teachers looking for extra […]
Posted inBusiness, Crime and Courts, Health, Marijuana, News, Politics and Government
Colorado just released a big report on how cannabis legalization is going. Here’s what it found.
More than seven years since Colorado became the first state to allow cannabis to be sold at stores for recreational use, pot arrests are down, marijuana-impaired driving cases are up and school expulsions are both up and down. Those numbers — and a whole lot more — come from a new report released Monday by […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Proponents of a tax hike on recreational cannabis get bipartisan endorsements
By James Anderson, The Associated Press Former Democratic and Republican governors have endorsed a coalition that wants to ask Colorado voters to approve higher taxes on recreational marijuana to help children make up for learning losses during the pandemic and address special needs for low-income and disadvantaged students, the group said Wednesday. Learning Opportunities for […]
Posted inBusiness, Health, News, Politics and Government
Should states set pot policy by its potency? Some, including a Colorado lawmaker, say yes
By Jennifer Peltz, The Associated Press As marijuana legalization spreads across U.S. states, so does a debate over whether to set pot policy by potency. Under a law signed last month, New York will tax recreational marijuana based on its amount of THC, the main intoxicating chemical in cannabis. Illinois imposed a potency-related tax when […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, Health
Pairing mental health counselors with police on calls shows promise in Colorado
Greeley Police Department Commander Rafael Gutierrez does not long for a simpler past, when dispatchers would get a call for someone threatening suicide and his only realistic option was handcuffs and a short stay on high watch in jail. Such an episode would typically be followed by a quick release back to the community, and […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Health, Politics and Government
How much do we know about marijuana’s medical capabilities after 163 years of claims? Just a little.
It’s not so much the claims made about the magic qualities of cannabinoids that prick up the ears — curing tuberculosis, anxiety, chronic pain, liver disease. Pretty standard hype in a world of consumers slathering themselves inside and out with anything labeled CBD or THC. It’s the year. The advertising hype about miraculous treatment of […]