Government and Politics

Marijuana Legalization

In 2012, Washington and Colorado voters made history when they approved measures to legalize recreational marijuana. Washington Initiative 502 “authorizes the state liquor board to regulate and tax marijuana for persons twenty-one years of age or older.”Since the vote in Washington, the Liquor Board has written a complex set of rules for the state’s new, legal recreational cannabis marketplace. The agency has also set limits on the amount of marijuana that can be grown. And the Board has begun to license growers, processors and retailers.For now, the Obama administration has signaled it will not interfere with Washington and Colorado’s legal pot experiment, unless there is evidence that legal pot is “leaking” to other states or children are getting access to the legal product. The feds are also watching to see if criminal organizations exploit the legal market.The first marijuana retail stores in Washington opened in July 2014.Recreational marijuana is also set to become legal in Oregon on July 1, 2015 after voters approved Measure 91 in November 2014.

Marijuana Tax Collections Starting To Roll In, Millions More Expected

NWNews | By Tom Banse

Published September 18, 2014 at 4:49 PM PDT

In a manner of speaking, millions of dollars of "drug money" is starting to flow into Washington state coffers.

The state's chief economic forecaster updated budget writers Thursday on how much tax money they can expect from recreational marijuana now that the first state licensed stores have opened.

The refined forecast calls for the first year of legal pot sales to generate about $25 million in fees and taxes. The Washington governor's budget director, David Schumacher, put that into context.

"In the face of a budget problem approaching two or three billion dollars, it's not very much money,” he said. “But you know, any money is helpful."

The rollout of legal recreational marijuana sales has been somewhat rocky in Washington. Many permitted stores are late in opening and pot supplies limited.

The state revenue forecast includes much higher cannabis collections in the next budget cycle. Back up a Brinks truck for around $207 million between next year and 2017.