Denver voters will soon decide whether to increase the local marijuana tax to fund pandemic-related research.<\/p>\n
Activists behind the initiative\u2014which would impose an additional 1.5 percent tax on cannabis sales\u2014were cleared for the November 2021 ballot in mid-July. That\u2019s in addition to a separate statewide initiative voters will see on their November ballots that would raise marijuana taxes to fund programs<\/a>\u00a0that are meant to reduce the education gap for low-income students.<\/p>\n The extra local funds raised by the Denver measure would be used for research into \u201cadvanced technologies to protect the public from the spread of pandemic pathogens, including at schools, businesses, and hospitals.\u201d The studies will also look into \u201cpandemic preparedness and recovery, including urban, economic, and school planning.\u201d<\/p>\n Those studies would be facilitated by the the University of Colorado at Denver. But activists working on the Denver Pandemic Fund<\/a> campaign stressed in a statement<\/a> to Westword that they have \u201cno financial connection\u201d to the college, and they \u201cwill not financially benefit from any funding in the ballot measure.\u201d It\u2019s a \u201cpurely philanthropic\u201d effort.<\/p>\n We have completed our review of the petition submitted by Committee for Pandemic Research Fund for an Initiated Ordinance. 9,982 signatures were determined to be valid and the measure will appear on the November 2, 2021 ballot. #COPolitics<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/a6OXg7LoSG<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Denver Elections (@DenverElections) July 15, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The university will be required to \u201cequitably allocate the funds\u201d so that 75 percent must be dedicated to studies on \u201cpersonal proactive equipment, disinfection and sterilization technology and design features of physical spaces,\u201d according to the text<\/a> of the initiative. The remaining 25 percent will support research into \u201cpublic policy and planning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGlobal health experts warned of a pandemic threat for years before COVID-19,\u201d the campaign\u2019s website says. \u201cYet, when the virus hit, there was little planning in place. Elected leaders and government officials scrambled for policy solutions, health treatments and even basic protections. Many lives\u2014and livelihoods\u2014were lost.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Denver Pandemic Fund will provide research into practical solutions for everyday effects of a pandemic,\u201d it says. \u201cSolutions that will address impacts on our daily lives: in our schools, small businesses and neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted Black and Latino communities here in Denver.<\/p>\n We need to be prepared *before* the next pandemic with researched solutions to ensure equitable outcomes for everyone in our city.#DenverPandemicFund<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/oF5mFre9rh<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Denver Pandemic Fund (@DenverPandemic) May 27, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n In Denver, cannabis sales currently see local taxes of 10.31 percent\u2014the city\u2019s standard 4.81 percent sales tax plus a special tax of 5.5 percent.<\/p>\n The secretary of state confirmed late last month that the campaign behind the separate statewide cannabis tax increase initiative collected more than the required 124,632 valid signatures<\/a> to make the ballot. The Colorado Learning Enrichment and Academic Progress (LEAP)\u00a0measure<\/a>\u00a0would give low- and middle-income families a $1,500 stipend to have school-aged children participate in after-school programs, tutoring and summer learning activities.<\/p>\n If Initiative 25 is approved, the state excise tax on sales adult-use cannabis products would be gradually increased from 15 percent to 20 percent to fund the effort. Starting January 1, there would be a three percent increase in the current excise tax. That would increase to a five percent increase beginning in January 2024.<\/p>\n Colorado would collect an additional $138 million per year to fund the measure once the final tax rate is set, according to a fiscal analysis.<\/p>\n Supporters have argued that the education expansion policy is especially needed as a response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has exacerbated income-related learning gaps for students. But some marijuana industry stakeholders\u2014and even the state\u2019s largest teachers union\u2014have expressed concerns about the proposal.<\/p>\n Beyond imposing the extra five percent tax on cannabis, the initiative also calls for a repurposing of state revenue that it generates from leases and rents for operations held on state land.<\/p>\n Some stakeholders and cannabis advocates have come out strongly against the proposal, arguing that it would detract from social equity efforts.<\/p>\n The measure is being\u00a0endorsed by a two former governors, about 20 sitting state lawmakers, several former legislative leaders and several other educational organizations. But in June, the Colorado Education Association\u00a0withdrew\u00a0its support for the proposal over concerns about how it would be implemented.<\/p>\n Colorado officials recently announced the launch of a new office to provide economic support for the state\u2019s marijuana industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n The division, which was created as part of a\u00a0bill\u00a0signed into law in March, is\u00a0being funded by cannabis tax revenue<\/a>. It will focus on creating \u201cnew economic development opportunities, local job creation, and community growth for the diverse population across Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n Gov. Jared Polis (D) had initially asked lawmakers back in January to\u00a0create a new cannabis advancement program<\/a>\u00a0as part of his budget proposal.<\/p>\n Beyond this\u00a0program, the state has worked to achieve equity and repair the harms of prohibition in other ways.<\/p>\n For example, Polis signed a bill in May to\u00a0double the marijuana possession limit for adults<\/a>\u00a0in the state\u2014and he directed state law enforcement to identify people with prior convictions for the new limit who he may be able to pardon.<\/p>\n The governor signed an executive order last year that\u00a0granted clemency to almost 3,000 people<\/a>\u00a0convicted of possessing one ounce or less of marijuana.<\/p>\n Funding for the new office is made possible by tax revenue from a booming cannabis market in the state. In the first three months of 2021 alone, the state saw\u00a0more than half a billion dollars in marijuana sales<\/a>.<\/p>\n The lack of access to federal financial support for marijuana businesses became a pronounced issue amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the Small Business Administration saying it\u2019s\u00a0unable to offer those companies its services<\/a>, as well as those that provide ancillary services such as accounting and law firms.<\/p>\n Polis\u00a0wrote a letter to a member of the Colorado congressional delegation<\/a>\u00a0last year seeking a policy change to give the industry the same resources that were made available to other legal markets.<\/p>\n Separately, the governor recently submitted comment on a Senate bill to federally legalize cannabis and urged lawmakers to pass incremental marijuana banking and tax reform first<\/a> before moving forward with the comprehensive legislation to end prohibition.<\/p>\n The state\u2019s attorney general also recently sent a letter asking congressional leaders to ensure that small marijuana businesses are protected<\/a>\u00a0from being overtaken by Big Tobacco and other major industries as federal cannabis reform legislation advances.<\/p>\n Top Federal Drug Official Says We Don\u2019t Need More Research To Show Criminalization\u2019s Racist Impact<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Denver Will Vote On Increasing Marijuana Taxes To Fund Pandemic-Related Research This Year<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Denver voters will soon decide whether to increase the local marijuana tax to fund pandemic-related research. Activists behind the initiative\u2014which would impose an additional 1.5 percent tax on cannabis sales\u2014were cleared for the November 2021 ballot in mid-July. That\u2019s in addition to a separate statewide initiative voters will see onContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49752"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49752"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49753,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49752\/revisions\/49753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Denver Will Vote On Increasing Marijuana Taxes To Fund Pandemic-Related Research This Year<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"