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
The fatal shooting of an unarmed African American teen in Ferguson, Mo. by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson Saturday, August 9, has given rise to an FBI civil rights investigation, protests and local rioting. The cause of the altercation between Michael Brown, 18, and Wilson, whose identity wasn’t released for weeks after the incident, remains unclear as witnesses to the event tell one story and law enforcement another. Dorian Johnson, 22, told CNN that he and Brown were walking to
It’s back to school season which means thousands of students will return to college campuses over the next several weeks. Students and parents should be aware that police are cracking down on DUIs and underage drinking near college campuses at this time of year. With a high volume of students living on campus and in college towns, there are more opportunities for large parties and bar hopping which may lead to DUI incidents for drivers and alcohol-related charges for the
There are few feelings worse than the sinking feeling in your stomach when you see flashing blue and red lights in your rearview mirror. When getting pulled over, the last thing you want to do is get yourself into even more trouble by putting your foot in your mouth or saying anything offensive to an officer. Being difficult, aggressive, or condescending will only land you in deeper trouble with an officer and can even result in he or she tacking
Parents and politicians are up in arms over a powdered alcohol that they worry will find its way into the hands of underage children. Approval was erroneously given to powdered alcohol by The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau on April 18, and was voluntarily withdrawn 13 days later due to public outcry. However, Palcohol remains to be a concern for many states, several of which are banning it altogether. Palcohol is a lightweight powdered alcohol, originally developed by
In April, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that drivers with traces of marijuana found in the body after a drug test can not receive DUI charges if the existing chemical compounds do not cause impairment. This overturned the Court of Appeals decision from last year that gave prosecutors the right to charge marijuana users with DUIs without proof that they were physically impaired at the time of arrest. Attention to this issue was brought to the higher court when an
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
Thanks to an overhaul of legal cases that leave public defendants drowning in work, individuals charged with crimes are now drowning in court fees and facing jail time far more severe than is warranted. Courts are scrambling to rake in defendants’ money by tacking on extra fees and charging interest, leaving people with lower incomes who are incapable of paying these inordinate amounts no choice but to compensate by accepting extensive jail time. Public defenders in Missouri, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and
On June 1, 2014, a trio of twelve-year-old girls ventured into the woods in Waukesha, Wisconsin, for a sinister game of hide-and-seek – a game that ended with 19 stab wounds and a slew of questions from the public. Two of the girls, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, allegedly ganged up on their friend with a kitchen knife and left her, bleeding and helpless, until a bicyclist found her on Saturday morning. The most perplexing part of the children’s violent
Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) opened the door to medical marijuana years ago, but will not budge on opening it any more in 2014. ADHS rejected a proposed expansion – adding illnesses to the list of approved marijuana-treated conditions – of the state’s medical marijuana program more than 3 years after approving the Act which allows the use of medical marijuana, with a 50.13 percent approval. The state’s current policy on medical marijuana is protected by Proposition 203, which
