A new tax for the ballot

VSIn November, it looks like Colorado voters will be asked to raise taxes on marijuana to support after-school initiatives aimed at bridging the educational divide created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Colorado Learning Enrichment and Academic Progress (LEAP) Campaign Aims to Raise Taxes on Recreational Marijuana by 5% in the State – from 15% to 20% – to Fund After-School Programs, Tutoring, and Activities summer apprenticeship for low and middle income. families through allowances of $ 1,500.

Members of the LEAP campaign delivered some 90 boxes of signatures to Governor Jared Polis’ office on June 30, or about 200,000 signatures. The measure requires 124,632 valid signatures to get to the poll.

But while the wave of support in signings seems clear, not everyone is behind the measure.

“The fact that this initiative is being pushed at a time in Colorado where the cannabis industry is trying to create more equity and bring economic growth to marginalized communities affected by the racist war on drugs is particularly dull,” said said Hashim Coates, executive director of diversity. Targeted trade group Black Brown and Red Badged said in a press release about the measure. “But that is to be expected when the proponents of this measure are affluent white men.”

“Let’s just be perfectly clear: this is a regressive tax – one that still hurts black and brown consumers the most. This goes to a vouchers agenda – which still harms black and brown communities the most, ”Coates said. “And he’s targeting the marijuana industry as a bottomless magic piggy bank – one that will devastate black and brown-owned cannabis companies the most. Can we just let the black community breathe for a moment after this pandemic before we start taxing it to death? “

Peter Marcus, spokesperson for the Boulder-based Terrapin Care Station dispensary chain, echoed these thoughts in an interview with Westword in March, when the LEAP initiative was just starting to collect signatures.

“Overall… we are seeing increased efforts to use the cannabis consumer as a piggy bank for state and regional budget issues,” Marcus said. “It is important that we maintain tax rates on cannabis that will not allow a[n illicit] Marlet. Cannabis is already taxed at a high rate; At some point, we’ll wake up a dormant black market if we continue to tax cannabis consumers to fix local and state budget holes. State and local leaders should strive to fund long-term, sustainable solutions to our budget problems, not band-aid solutions on the backs of cannabis users. “

In June, the state’s main teachers’ union, the Colorado Education Association (CEA), withdrew its support for the initiative, citing concerns about the implementation of the after-school learning program.

CEA President Amie Baca-Oehlert told the Colorado Sun In mid-June, she was particularly concerned about whether rural Colorado students would have the same access to after-school programs as their peers in the more populous areas of the state.

Still, the measure is approved by two former Colorado governors, around 20 sitting state lawmakers, several former legislative leaders and a number of educational organizations.

Advocates estimate the measure will bring in $ 150 million in additional funding each year. While marijuana is the main source of funding, the LEAP initiative also seeks to reallocate some of the investment income from leases, rents and royalties paid for state-owned land, estimated at around $ 60 million. dollars per year. The remainder of the revenue will come from the 5% increase in the sales tax on recreational marijuana.

The signatures are now on their way to the Colorado Secretary of State’s office for validation.