“But instead, year after year, politicians have declined to provide a regulatory structure to collect precious tax revenue for our city.
“When Colorado began adult-use sales of cannabis in 2014, we anticipated that our local officials would respect the will of the voters and craft a regulatory structure allowing recreational sales,” said Karlie Van Arnam, a mother, small business owner and former city council candidate. The citizen initiative will align with the city’s existing license cap, meaning no new stores will be allowed. Revenue from the taxes will fund mental health services, PTSD programs for veterans and public safety. If passed, only the existing medical marijuana dispensaries already operating within the city will be able to sell recreational marijuana and sales of both will take place under the same roof. The coalition’s ballot initiative stands on a firm foundation of responsibility to the Colorado Springs community. The two Manitou stores serve the 720,000 residents of fast-growing El Paso County, the most populous county in the state. The reason? Lack of competition and an abundance of local demand. The two dispensaries in Manitou Springs are the most profitable recreational marijuana stores in the entire state. Today, Manitou Springs is the only municipality in El Paso County that permits recreational cannabis sales. With this initiative, we are asking voters if they want to keep their tax dollars local.” Why It Matters Instead, residents drive and spend their hard-earned money in Manitou, Pueblo, and even Denver, and then bring their marijuana right back home to Colorado Springs. “Recreational marijuana is 100% legal for every single adult living in the city. “It’s hard to believe just how much tax revenue politicians have robbed our city of over the past decade,” said Cliff Black, a local resident, attorney, and the lead elector petitioning the city for recreational sales. This week, a group of Colorado Springs residents, business and community leaders, has filed ballot language with the city clerk’s office to give residents the choice this November whether to allow recreational cannabis sales in Colorado Springs. As a result, the city has lost out on tens of millions of tax dollars annually. Instead, Colorado Springs residents buy recreational marijuana in cities like Manitou Springs, Denver and Pueblo. Despite voter approval, local officials have continued to ban recreational marijuana sales over the past decade. When Amendment 64 passed in 2012, Colorado Springs residents approved adult-use marijuana by more than 3,000 votes.
0 kommentar(er)
