{"id":108593,"date":"2015-10-26T15:50:30","date_gmt":"2015-10-26T21:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/locals-weigh-in-on-prop-bb-the-pot-surplus\/"},"modified":"2015-10-26T15:50:30","modified_gmt":"2015-10-26T21:50:30","slug":"locals-weigh-in-on-prop-bb-the-pot-surplus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/locals-weigh-in-on-prop-bb-the-pot-surplus\/","title":{"rendered":"Locals weigh in on Prop BB \u2013 the pot surplus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A
A caregiver picks out a marijuana bud for a patient at a marijuana dispensary in Denver. The Department of Revenue.<\/span>Ed Andrieski\/Associated Press file photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Recent online reaction among Journal readers was mixed regarding Proposition BB, a $66.1 million marijuana tax surplus.<\/p>\n

Last week, The Journal asked Facebook fans to weigh in on whether they supported or opposed Proposition BB, a ballot initiative in the upcoming election. If approved by voters, each Colorado resident would receive an $8 refund.<\/p>\n

\u201cReturn it to the taxpayers,\u201d one woman demanded, posting that she could buy gas and food.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe state of Colorado doesn\u2019t need any more of our money,\u201d another woman posted in support of Proposition BB.<\/p>\n

If the measure fails, $25 million would be returned to taxpayers, $24 million to retail marijuana cultivators and slightly more than $17 million to retail marijuana consumers through a temporary reduction in the 10-percent marijuana sales tax rate. Local governments would also lose $6.3 million from the state starting in 2016.<\/p>\n

Still others supported the ballot initiative. One woman even posted that she didn\u2019t need $8, stating in part, \u201cI would be happy to see it go to other projects\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDepends what they\u2019re spending it on,\u201d another woman commented. \u201cIf it\u2019s education and road repairs, I\u2019m all in.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Proposition BB passes, a majority of the surplus marijuana revenue, $40 million, would be allocated toward new school construction. A total of $12 million would be split on campaigns to combat school bullying and high school dropouts; substance abuse screening, intervention and prevention and even roadside impaired-driving enforcement training for peace officers. State legislators would allocate the remaining surplus.<\/p>\n

Amendment 64 legalized recreational marijuana sales in 2012. The following year, Proposition AA authorized excise taxes on retail cannabis sales. Tax revenue estimates, however, exceeded state expectations, so taxpayers are now owed a refund.<\/p>\n

Among city, county and school leaders surveyed by The Journal, only one responded.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a voter, I am for the state keeping the taxes for the schools,\u201d said Montezuma County Commissioner Larry Don Suckla.<\/p>\n

Some local marijuana industry officials also shared the commissioner\u2019s sentiment, adding the excess revenues would be dispersed toward the greater good.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m all for it,\u201d said Sherri Garcia, who co-owns The Medicine Man in downtown Cortez with her husband. \u201cI support it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia said the added $8 in her pocket would be better spent on a child\u2019s future. David Pozzi, general manager of The Herbal Alternative, agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a voter, I think we should pass Proposition BB,\u201d said Pozzi.<\/p>\n

Pozzi added that it would be frivolous for the state to take money away from school construction, for example, simply because officials underestimated retail sales potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf marijuana makes more, then we should give schools more,\u201d Pozzi said.<\/p>\n

tbaker@the-journal.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BB fails, $66 million could be returned to taxpayers, cultivators and consumers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[21,13,308,135,12],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-108593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-cortez","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-local-elections","tag-marijuana","tag-state-budget-and-tax"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108593"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=108593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}