Small Town Experiences Windfall from Marijuana Sales

A town in Colorado is seeing a windfall from the legalized sale of marijuana.

Our marijuana defense lawyers know that benefits of marijuana legalization will be experienced on a statewide level including, small localities and towns.

The governor recently announced he expects $134 million in tax revenue as a result of marijuana sales.

The surprising thing is that not only statewide agencies and larger cities benefit from the tax revenue and marijuana business. Garden City has only one-stoplight but it has cashed in on marijuana sales in a major way.

The local dispensaries explain that they can barely keep up with the demand from customers, some of whom come from as far as 2 hours away.

The town is the only one in a county of approximately 4,000 square miles. The city was started when alcohol prohibition ended in 1933 and the surrounding county continued to ban alcohol consumption. Now the city has decided to forge its own path again and become the only city in the county to legalize recreational marijuana sales.

The town has a population of about 300 and the decision to legalize recreational marijuana use sheds a lot of light on the individualized nature of marijuana enforcement.
The fact is that once a state legalizes the use of marijuana there are still many steps to allow individual towns and cities to sell marijuana.

It should be noted that this town is not venturing into uncharted waters when it comes to what they should expect from marijuana sales. They have already seen $250,000 in revenue from medicinal marijuana taxes from last year and they would expect a significant increase now that recreational sales have been made legal.

The $250,000 in revenue represented a full third of the city’s budget and with that extra cash the city did a variety of things for the community, including trimming every resident’s trees for free and providing matching grants for projects upgrading store fronts and painting fences.

Members of the community who support marijuana sales feel that it is a well-written law at the state level since it allows each community to make the decision. Aside from the tax revenue, the increased business activity creates more jobs in the community and brings more people through town, which benefits businesses that may have nothing to do with marijuana.

Although there may be towns like Garden City that have made the decision to allow marijuana within the boundaries, there are many other cities and towns which may outlaw its use.

The individualized nature of many state marijuana laws mean that there is more decided by the locality than the simple decision of whether they should legalize marijuana sales.

Its imperative that a dispensary looking to open in a particular locality know all the requirements and regulations of the area in order to remain in compliance with the law. These regulations are often complicated and it is advisable to consult with an experienced attorney.

The CANNABIS LAW Group represents growers, dispensaries, collectives, patients and those facing marijuana charges. Call us at 949-375-4734.

More Blog Entries:

Obama Admin Pot Policy Dazed, Confusing to Many, February 23, 2014, Los Angeles Marijuana Lawyer Blog
Lawmakers Debate Tighter Marijuana Laws – In Colorado Too!, February 19, 2014, Los Angeles Marijuana Lawyer Blog