Leah Welborn
Tuesday, November 7th was Election Day across the country, and three cities – Alamosa, Monte Vista, and Rocky Ford – in southern Colorado voted on allowing cannabis sales. Alamosa residents voted against allowing either medical or retail cannabis stores in their city, as did Monte Vista. Rocky Ford already allowed medical sales, and its residents voted by a rather narrow margin (456 votes to 404) to allow recreational sales as well.
Interestingly, cannabis tax questions were on the ballot in 14 cities, many of which don’t allow cannabis sales. Berthoud, for example, approved a 7% tax on sales of recreational cannabis, which is still prohibited there. In 13 of the 14 cities, the tax measures passed. Only the town of Foxfield – where cannabis is banned – voted against the proposed tax measure.
Colorado law allows municipalities to either allow or ban cannabis sales and to set local tax rates on the sales. As of April 2017, about 90% had “taken action” (i.e. held a vote) on retail cannabis establishments in their community. Of the 271 municipalities in the state, 169 have opted out of retail sales altogether.
At The Green Solution®, we’re proud to have gotten our start in a state that respects the wishes of its citizens – even if that means some of them decide against recreational cannabis.