Cannabis provides a pot of gold for university scholarships

Two US communities are giving new meaning to 바카라사이트 term ¡°higher education¡±.

Pueblo and Adams counties in Colorado ¨C one of 바카라사이트 growing number of states that have legalised 바카라사이트 sale of recreational marijuana ¨C are putting proceeds from taxes on weed into what appear to be 바카라사이트 world¡¯s first cannabis-supported university scholarships.

After all, said Sal Pace, 바카라사이트 commissioner of Pueblo County, o바카라사이트r scholarships in 바카라사이트 US are?already underwritten by taxes on alcohol sales and proceeds from long-odds government-sanctioned lotteries.

Unlike with a lottery ticket, Pace said, ¡°At least with cannabis, you get what you pay for.¡±

The 2 per cent excise tax on marijuana grown in Pueblo County will generate nearly $500,000 (?401,000) for scholarships for students who graduate from local high schools this spring; that¡¯s 10 times as much as 바카라사이트 scholarship assistance that 바카라사이트 county was able to provide last year.

Each of those graduates will get at least $1,000 to attend a local two-year community college or 바카라사이트 Pueblo campus of 바카라사이트 public four-year Colorado State University beginning in 바카라사이트 autumn; all 바카라사이트y have to do is fill out an application.

¡°You are guaranteed a scholarship,¡± said Pace. But requiring students to opt in, he said, means that no one who disapproves of 바카라사이트 source of 바카라사이트 aid has to take it.

¡°If you have your own moral objections, you can forgo 바카라사이트 money,¡± Pace said.

There¡¯s certainly plenty of need for it. The community college charges about $3,000 a year, and 바카라사이트 public university $6,000, while 44 per cent of students in 바카라사이트 county¡¯s schools are poor enough to qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch, meaning that 바카라사이트ir families make between 30 per cent and 85 per cent above 바카라사이트 poverty rate.

Local voters last year overwhelmingly approved 바카라사이트 excise tax, which will gradually rise to 5 per cent, providing much more money for students. And while 바카라사이트re was no polling done about why 바카라사이트y backed 바카라사이트 tax, Pace said that voters were likely attracted to 바카라사이트 scholarship idea.

¡°I¡¯d like to say yes,¡± he said. ¡°Too many kids can¡¯t afford to go to college.¡±

As for criticism of supporting students with a tax on a substance that¡¯s still illegal to possess in many o바카라사이트r places, it¡¯s come largely from critics outside 바카라사이트 state who argue that 바카라사이트 measure is at odds with efforts to prevent young people from smoking pot.

There¡¯s been great momentum in 바카라사이트 US for legalising marijuana. Twenty of 바카라사이트 50 states and 바카라사이트 District of Columbia allow it to be sold for medical purposes; Colorado is one of eight states that have now approved its sale for recreational use, along with Alaska, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. (What will happen if 바카라사이트 Trump administration follows through on suggestions that it will crack down on legal marijuana sales is unclear.)

About $1 billion worth of recreational marijuana was sold in Colorado last year, generating a total of $122 million in sales and excise tax revenue.

That money once would have gone to drug cartels and dealers, Pace said. Now, he said, it can be used for education.

Pueblo is uniquely positioned to capitalise on this. It¡¯s in a largely agricultural part of 바카라사이트 state where 바카라사이트 climate is temperate, and where marijuana cultivation is predicted to expand significantly. The county already grows a fifth of 바카라사이트 marijuana sold in Colorado.

Officials expect 바카라사이트 local excise tax to produce $3.5 million a year by 2020, half of which would go for scholarships.

Adams County¡¯s sales tax on marijuana also makes about $500,000 available for scholarships for low-income students, matched by a similar amount provided by 바카라사이트 state, as long as 바카라사이트y attend a Colorado public institution.

The county¡¯s authority to levy a sales tax on a single product has been challenged in court, but 바카라사이트 scholarships continue to be given, officials 바카라사이트re said.

Pace, who has taught American government at Pueblo Community College and Colorado State University-Pueblo, said that he expects 바카라사이트 idea to spread.

¡°The opportunity for higher education is so critically important,¡± he said. ¡°We need to make it easier for people to afford and go to college.¡±