Colorado
Marijuana taxes could help Pueblo alcohol treatment program
Posted: Apr 1, 2011 11:45 AM by Greg Boyce
Updated: Apr 1, 2011 12:36 PM
DENVER (AP) - Marijuana taxes could save the day for an endangered drug and alcohol treatment program threatened by state budget cuts.
A bill cleared for a House debate Friday sends $1 million worth of sales taxes collected from medical marijuana sales to the Circle Program at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo. That program stands to lose $1 million - two-thirds of its funding - under the budget proposed by Gov. John Hickenlooper.
The House Appropriations Committee voted 7-6 Friday to use pot taxes to fund the Circle Program.
The marijuana bill also extends a moratorium on new marijuana dispensaries by a year, to the summer of 2012. It also relaxes prohibitions on new residents working in dispensaries and makes other changes to how the business is regulated.
As Seen On News 5
