The governor of Colorado says his state should be at the “center” of the national and global cannabis trade once broad prohibition is lifted—and in the meantime, he’s proposing new cannabis tax revenue distributions at the state level to further promote equity and streamline licensing as he pushes for federal reform.
Gov. Jared Polis (D) spoke about his newly released budget proposal in an interview on VS Strategies’ “Weed Wonks” podcast on Thursday, highlighting new ways he’s asking the legislature to appropriate millions of dollars in cannabis tax dollars for workforce development, licensing, and industry investment in lower-income areas.
In his budget, unveiled on Wednesday, Polis is calling for $5 million in cannabis revenue to support the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade’s Cannabis Business Office, which focuses on economic development and job growth within the industry. He also wants $3 million allocated for licensing as well as a policy change to allow cannabis businesses located in economically distressed “enterprise zones” to take tax credits that are available to other traditional industries.
Under the proposal, the Cannabis Business Office would receive funding “in perpetuity,” Polis said, rather than rely on the one-time infusion it received in 2021. “We want to make sure that it continues to offer services like helping the link loans and grants to companies in this sector,” the governor said. The governor’s budget document says that, beyond providing sustainable funding for the division’s existing work, the office will expand to “offer entrepreneurial aid to those outside of the cannabis industry and negatively affected by the war on drugs.”
Read more at marijuanamoment.net