High school graduates in Pueblo County, Colorado will get college scholarship from increased tax on marijuana growers by 2017.
A CNN report shows that 60 percent of Voters in the county approved Tuesday a measure that will increase taxes on marijuana growers by 5 percent in the year 2020. The money from the increased tax will be used to fund college scholarships and other meaningful projects in the community. Some of the projects include improving an elementary school playground, funding a study on extending an Amtrak road, and replacing golf cars at a golf course. The county projects $3.5 million revenue from this tax increase and more than half of it will go to the college scholarship fund.
ATTN has reported that the fund can support up to 400 students, who will $1,000 each year to fund their college education. The tax increase seeks to make college more affordable for everyone in the community, said Pueblo County Commissioner Sal Pace.
According to a report from Money, this measure is not the only way that marijuana taxes are used for education. Marijuana sales are heavily taxed and the revenue is used to help fund children's education. In the first half of 2015, Colorado used $13.6 million worth of marijuana tax for school construction projects. Analysts expects about $30 million to $40 million revenue from marijuana tax by the end of the year.
Pueblo County spokesperson Paris Carmichael said, "The whole point of the scholarship program was to make higher education a reality for families who can't afford to send their kids to school because of debt."
Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce president Tyler Henson said the challenge would be how to make sure that minors will stay away from recreational marijuana while encouraging the growth of the industry. Depending on the revenue, this college scholarship project can be expanded in the future.
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