As marijuana business booms, could this city be a preview of California's future?
As Americans grow more comfortable with legal marijuana, their governments are getting more comfortable with the cash it’s bringing in.
One of the leaders in authorizing retail marijuana sales four years ago, Denver is planning to commit a share of the tax collections to building affordable housing, an increasingly scarce commodity. That is a shift for the booming Colorado capital, which has so far only used the portion not already earmarked to cover one-time costs — like paving roads — amid uncertainty about how big the business would become.
But Denver has seen the tax collections from the nascent industry climb steadily, rising by 45 percent since 2015 to more than $44 million. While the first report on legal sales in California don’t show that kind of windfall, Denver’s experience provides a glimpse of what may turn into a fast-growing source of funds for governments nationwide, with the sales of legalized cannabis expected to hit $75 billion by 2030. Some form of marijuana consumption is legal in 29 states. Nine allow sales for recreational use and Michigan voters may decide to follow suit in November.
“As the cities and states have more experience in this situation, you’ll see them begin to leverage these dollars,” said Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock.
Read more: http://www.thecannifornian.com/cannabis-news/nation-world/marijuana-business-booms-city-preview-californias-future/
