colorado

Colorado lawmakers are reviewing recreational marijuana taxes after sales from the past fiscal year did not meet early predictions.

The official estimated revenue that recreational marijuana was predicted to bring in $33.5 million through the fiscal year, which ended this summer.

Tax collections from Colorado reveal that the actual amount came in 60 percent lower than predicted, at a little over $12 million, according to The Denver Post.

Lawmakers, such as State Rep. Dan Pabon, the leader of a special legislative committee on marijuana revenue, say that existing medical marijuana tax laws, which are lower than that of recreational pot, may be a part of why recreational tax revenue didn’t meet expectations.

David Blake of the Colorado attorney general’s office suggests that medical marijuana’s continued success and recreational marijuana’s disappointing revenues are driven by the avoidance these higher taxes, The Denver Post said.

Despite the presence of recreational marijuana dispensaries, which are popping up all around the state, medical marijuana sales continue to hold a top place in the marijuana market.

It seems as though recreational marijuana hasn’t taken consumers away from medical marijuana businesses but instead has appealed to tourists and others who may have previously purchased pot illegally.

However, recreational tax revenues are projected to increase as the field grows and matures over time.

Some are especially optimistic, such as Dorinda Floyd from the Department of Revenue, who believes recreational pot will eventually surpass medical sales, The Denver Post reports.

In Arizona, medical marijuana is just getting settled in the market as Proposition 203, The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, was passed by voters in 2010.

Medical marijuana sales in Arizona are expected to have a significant place in the state’s economy as dispensaries continue to receive licenses and open.

A total of approximately 126 dispensaries are anticipated to exist in the state since 2012, give or take a few depending on the number of traditional pharmacies existing in Arizona at any given time.

For reference, one dispensary may open in accordance with every 10 pharmacies in the state the Arizona Department of Health Services explains explains.

A study published by Arizona State University Professor Timothy Hogan predicts that dispensaries will support 1,500 full-time jobs and pay out $74 million a year in wages in 2016.

After including additional businesses and spending as a result of direct wages, those numbers increase to 6,500 jobs for Arizona workers, $315 million in income payments and $990 million in overall economic activity, the Phoenix Business Journal reports.

Lawmakers are wrestling with keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, but in doing so they walk a fine line between public safety and gun control.

Measures have been taken by members of Congress to prevent mass gun violence by preventing the mentally ill from purchasing guns and increasing police training on how to handle mental health crises.

Recently, new bills have come forth to reexamine current gun laws and the mental health aspect of current background checks used for prospective gun owners – but don’t call these bills gun control restrictions.

Although these efforts deal with guns and who gets to use them, Congress has had little success moving forward with gun control reform, so representatives are focusing instead on mental health reform and improving background checks.

“It’s not about what’s in their hand; it’s about what’s in their mind,” Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), a practicing psychologist and chairman of the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations said during a recent interview in the Washington Post.

“If guns caused mental illness, then we would treat that; mental illness needs to be treated, and it is not,” Murphy said.

Recent tragedies involving mentally ill offenders, like the Isla Vista shooting in California and previous mass shooting incidents in Aurora, Colorado and Newtown, Connecticut have signaled red flags to lawmakers that mental and behavioral issues of the people behind these tragedies desperately need to be addressed.

Under current federal statute, people with mental illnesses are only prevented from buying guns if they have been involuntarily institutionalized or if they have been deemed as mentally ill by a judge, The Hill reports.

This statute is too vague to keep many mentally ill people from buying guns, including the Isla Vista gunman Elliot Rodger, 22, who had a history of mental illness, but didn’t meet the criteria to warrant an involuntary hold (which would have deemed him unfit to buy a gun) by authorities despite alerts to police made by Rodger’s parents, the Hill reports.

Representative David Cicilline (D-R.I.) has proposed a bill that will add another preventative step to the gun purchasing process to keep firearms out of the hands of the mentally ill. Cicilline’s legislation would prevent those who have been determined by a mental health professional to cause harm to themselves or others from purchasing guns.

Representatives Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) and Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) have also proposed a bill to expand the list of people prohibited from buying guns to include more mental health patients and convicted criminals, like spousal abusers and stalkers, according to The Hill.

In June, the House increased funding for the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, (NICS) by $19.5 million to help states enforce current laws used to determine which records should be entered into the background check system.

In Arizona, and other states including Ohio and Missouri, training of police officers on how to manage crisis situations involving the mentally ill has increased so that law enforcement and behavioral health professionals can work together in an emergency.

The 40-hour Phoenix Police Department training program will discuss how to defuse crisis situations and how to get the mentally ill the proper treatment from the behavioral health system rather than the criminal justice system when needed, Crisis Intervention Training Coordinator for the Phoenix Police Department Nick Margiotta said in an interview with KJZZ.

Rather than focusing on the firearms themselves, the mental health of the people buying and operating them are gaining attention in hopes of preventing gun violence and mass shootings.

All eyes are on Colorado this year as it is the first state in the country to legalize recreational marijuana and the first location in the world to regulate weed from growth to sales.

In November 2012, 55 percent of Colorado citizens voted in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana, and on January 1, 2014, pot retail outlets opened their doors to thousands of Colorado natives and state visitors who lined up to be among the first to legally buy marijuana.

Other states are sure to follow. Washington also voted in favor of legalized recreational weed in 2012, but will wait to open retail stores until later this year.

The Details

Although it is now legal, regulatory marijuana laws do exist.

Those interested in buying marijuana must be at least 21 years old and may only purchase up to an ounce if they are from in state and a quarter ounce if they hail from out of state. Growing marijuana at home is legal as well, allowing no more than 6 plants per household that must be in a secure and locked area.

No public smoking is allowed due to Colorado’s Clean Indoor Air Act which prohibits smoking indoors, even in dispensaries, and will keep marijuana use out of public areas. Recreational marijuana use is legal only on private property with the permission of the property’s owner.

Similar to alcohol laws, driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal when more than 5 nanograms of THC, the drug’s active component, are present in the blood. THC levels are shown to wear off after three hours after use, but the effects of marijuana vary individually and should be used with caution, especially when both alcohol and marijuana are involved, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and CNN.

Underage marijuana use and possession is illegal in Denver and is punishable with fines and other consequences, but not jail time.

On a federal level, marijuana remains illegal, but instead of challenging Colorado state law, federal officials will, “focus on serious trafficking and keeping the drug away from children,” CNN said.

Why Legalize Marijuana

Recreational marijuana use will bring in millions of dollars in tax revenue to states that legalize retail pot, the New York Times said.

Retail marijuana in Colorado will have the usual state sales tax of 2.9% plus a 25-percent state tax, making it one of the most highly taxed consumer products in the state, resulting in an additional $67 million a year with $27.5 million of that amount designated to the construction of schools, CNN said.

This will be new revenue for Colorado. Medical marijuana has been around as early as Nov. 2000 when Amendment 20 effectively legalized limited amounts of medical marijuana for patients and primary caregivers, but medical marijuana patients are not charged with extra taxes.

Although both retail and medicinal marijuana establishments are legal in Colorado, the two entities remain separate with different laws and regulations. For example, a personal license and physician recommendation are required for medical marijuana patients.

Community Perspectives

The state Marijuana Enforcement Division mailed out 136 recreational marijuana licenses in December to shops in Denver, and at least 37 of those were able to get past the lengthy legal process to open on Jan. 1, according to the Denver Post and the Gazette.

Most locations were sold out within the first several hours of opening, and despite initial concern, the Denver Post reported police and government officials said crowds were very calm and unproblematic.

Jan. 1 was an exciting day for many. Iraq war veteran Sean Azzariti had campaigned for marijuana legalization and was the first to legally buy recreational pot.

Michael Eymer is benefiting from “cannabis capitalism” with his pot tours that take paying customers to dispensaries, shops and restaurants around Colorado for the full recreational weed experience, CBS said.

Other Colorado communities, however, are not as thrilled.

The cities of Colorado Springs and Greeley are exercising their power to prohibit marijuana commerce, and have chosen not to welcome retail weed to their communities.

It’s been nearly two years since the attack on an Aurora, Colorado movie theater rattled the country, and the fate of gunman James Holmes is still not certain as defense attorneys and prosecutors continue to argue viciously over issues of his mental sanity and the death penalty. The latest development finds the defense accusing the judge in the case of favoritism.

While the defense focuses on its latest set of motions (two other motions remain sealed) filed last week, the issue of Holmes’ mental state continues to be determined.

During the week of January 27, 2014, a series of four hearings closed to the media and public took place followed by an open hearing on that Friday at the Arapahoe County District Court.

Prosecutors requested a second court ordered psychiatric evaluation of Holmes on the claim that the first results, from the summer of 2013 after Holmes pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, were made by a biased doctor and therefore invalid.

The determination of the mental state of Holmes is crucial.

If Holmes is found to be insane, he is too mentally sick to be a fit candidate for the death penalty. If he is found to have been sane during the shooting, he will most likely face execution. Juries have a tendency to side with the findings of the psychiatric evaluation, so the report on his mental health will have an extraordinary impact on the results of this case.

The results of the first psychiatric evaluation are not available to the public, which is why the first several hearings took place behind closed doors.

The Friday hearing was open, and it was established that the family and friends of Holmes are allowed to testify, but will not be able to discuss their opinions on the death penalty with the jury. Victims of the shooting, and survivors of victims, face the same rules in court.

Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour set the trial date for October, which is when one of the largest juries in U.S. history, at 6,000 prospective jurors, will be summoned for the first phase of jury selection.

Before that process begins, which could take months and push back prosecution even further, Samour set two weeks of hearings on arguments about the death penalty for the end of April and beginning of May.

A date for the final efforts to further postpone the trial is set for September 5, in an attempt to keep the already delayed case on schedule.

12 people were shot to death and 70 were injured by gunfire in the summer of 2012. Those left in the wake of the attack are frustrated with the time it has taken for trial to begin.