The first county in Colorado to report marijuana sales and taxes paid is urging the stores to "sell more weed" to pay for a new judicial building.
The two pot shops in Pueblo County that opened Jan. 1 for recreational business (Marisol Therapeutics and The Greener Side) sold $1 million worth of said weed and raised $56,000 in state taxes during the initial month. Three more shops have since opened in the county, Colorado's tenth largest, located in the south central part of the state.
County clerk Bo Ortiz predicts $11.2 million in pot sales in 2014, with a windfall of $670,000 in taxes kicking back to Pueblo. The county has instituted a 3.5% sales tax. It also receives share-back money from the state.
Budget and Finance director Carl Hamler was the one who joked, "We're going to have to sell more weed," in order to afford construction of the planed judicial building.
There are currently 160 recreational marijuana stores operating in Colorado. Figures for overall sales and taxes paid so far will be released in March.
