Colorado Auctions Cannabis License Plates for Charity
Marijuana Moment, among many others, reported recently that “Colorado is Auctioning Marijuana-Themed License Plates to Raise Money for People with Disabilities”
To summarize the story, 4/20 is the deadline for Colorado residents to bid on vanity plates with terms like “BONG” “GANJA” “STASH”
This story is fun for cannabi, but what's the big picture?
The plucky state of Colorado has shown again and again HOW ENDING CANNABIS PROHIBITION IS GOOD FOR AMERICANS.
Ending Prohibition means 3 THINGS:
Economics
Education
Social Equity
The ECONOMIC benefits of legal cannabis in Colorado are clear:
40,000 Coloradans have jobs in the cannabis industry
3,000 businesses are licensed to employ them (and pay taxes)
And the state, which has less people than New York City, has generated $1.63 B in tax revenues in just 6 years
As they used to say in Washington, “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon it adds up to real money.”
EDUCATION:
The Reefer Madness Prohibition Crowd always tells us: “We have to keep it away from the kids”. Well, in Colorado, the BENEFITS of legalization are going DIRECTLY TO THE KIDS:
Some of the $16.3B in tax revenues funds the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund and The Building Excellent Schools Today (B.E.S.T.) Program
These innovative programs provide funds and support for everything from early literacy programs to college education; from Scholarships for underprivileged students to programs that prevent dropouts & bullying. As a direct result of the success of the cannabis industry, Colorado has programs in agriculture, law enforcement & public safety, drug education, and has a Capital Construction program that provides funds to build and renovate public school buildings.
SOCIAL EQUITY:
Gov. Jared Polis has established the $4 Million Cannabis Advancement Fund to support cannabis businesses owned by people who qualify as social equity licensees, who are the people most impacted by the failed War on Drugs. To start, the governor has set aside $4 Million in tax revenues to provide Loans, Grants to support innovation and job creation, and Technical assistance to social equity licensees.
* And ALL OF THIS is just the start. Colorado has only been doing this for 6 years. Imagine what good cannabis can do in bigger states like Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York.
So what happened with the license plates?
All Cannabis-themed plates were SOLD OUT, including the following:
Bong
Ganja
GotWax
Green
Happy
Hash
Hemp
Herb
Honey
Indica
ISIT420
Sativa
Stash
Tegridy
The highest bid was $6,630 for ISIT420. The most bids were for TEGRIDY, at 151 bids, followed by HAPPY (108 bids), GANJA (103 bids ) and STASH (91 bids). (A big day for South Park fans!) The total amount raised from this auction is $45,410!
END NOTE:
The Reefer Madness Crowd wants us to be afraid of cannabis, but The State of Colorado has shown real creativity and leadership in its cannabis tax strategies. All residents of Colorado – kids included - are benefitting from legalized cannabis and hemp.
We hope newly legal states are listening.
Image Source: Marijuana Moment
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