Florida's Tax Revenues From Marijuana Will Be Off The Chain

Well this week was the deadline for the pot dispensaries to send their taxes to the state of Colorado, and the results from the first full month are way beyond anyone’s expectations. Even though the official numbers won’t be reported until sometime in March, John Hickenlooper the Governor is already projecting the taxes collected from legal marijuana to top 180 million over the next eighteen months. Now consider those numbers plus the millions being saved by the state by not prosecuting people for marijuana related crimes, in a couple of years from now the state of Colorado could easily have a cool extra billion in its state budget. That’s enough money to build a few new schools or improve infrastructure the possibilities are endless, I’m sure the lawmakers in the state will be salivating while they anticipate getting their hands on this money. NCIA executive director Aaron Smith stated in an interview “This is a watershed day, Colorado voters led the world in supporting a legal, taxed, and regulated approach to cannabis, and now they’ll reap the benefits of a prosperous new industry and tax base.”  This is only the beginning of a new world in which marijuana will be legally available to those who desire it, and none of the problems that opponents have warned about have yet to happen. Even the girl scouts are rejoicing as they are selling a ton more of their cookies than normal, it’s a wonderful time to be a weed smoker.

This news should be even more incentive for other states to forge ahead with the legalization of marijuana, just think of all the revenues that Florida will gain on top of sales taxes with it being such a tourist destination. Pretty much everyone who has ever visited Disney World has dreamed to riding Space Mountain while blazed, well for most people it’s a dream because I have actually done that. It will also help so many of our farmers across the state of Florida as there is lots of prime farming land that would be perfect for growing marijuana, and help ease the economic crisis that happens when cold spells hit their orange groves. No matter how you put it the legalization of marijuana seems to have nothing but positives going for it, the opponents keep giving their shallow speeches against it but it is time for them to give up and realize that the legalization of Marijuana in Florida is inevitable.