Cannabis Tax Dollars Used To Support Education

The Cannabis Industry proving that cannabis is better for both health and education,

Pueblo County Colorado is set to award more than $2 million in scholarships from cannabis tax revenues, according to the The Pueblo Chieftain.

Pueblo County will award $1 million to Pueblo Community College, $616,000 to the Colorado State University Pueblo Foundation, $385,000 to CSU Pueblo Athletics for student-athletes as well as $26,000 to the Pueblo African American Concern Organization.

On to the article and more on the positive societal impact legalized cannabis is having on American culture.

Culture Magazine - Colorado is continuing their push to help fund educational ventures in the state with cannabis tax revenue, with Pueblo County set to award more than $2 million in scholarships from that revenue, according to The Pueblo Chieftain.

The announcement comes ahead of the upcoming fall semester, and the country will award $1 million to Pueblo Community College, $616,000 to the Colorado State University Pueblo Foundation, $385,000 to CSU Pueblo Athletics for student-athletes and $26,000 to the Pueblo African American Concern Organization.

From there, it’s up to those entities to distribute the scholarship money to students at their discretion, and only students who are Pueblo County residents can receive the money.

“These organizations know best their residents and community to allocate these funds in a way for the best benefit,” Commissioner Chris Wiseman told the Chieftain.

He expanded to note that he is interested in the scholarship money being used for students who might want to return to college later in life. Pueblo Community College acts as an example, offering the Return to Earn program, which pays down tuition so students can re-enroll in classes. During the last spring semester, PCC awarded 10 Return to Earn scholarships with the cannabis excise sales tax scholarship money.

The chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, Garrison Ortiz, told the Chieftain he thinks that the competitive process “draws out some innovation and creativity when it comes to how these dollars are awarded.”

The scholarship administrators said that having this type of accessible money available is crucial to help convince students to enroll in school and stay in Pueblo County. The program was first approved by voters in 2015, and it has grown in part because of the growth within the cannabis industry, but also because the excise tax has increased by one percent each year.

“As we see more and more the expansion of marijuana grows in Pueblo County, we’ll see an increase in the excise tax and hopefully be able to help more people,” Wiseman said.

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