Colorado has become the first US state to fully regulate the legal recreational use of marijuana for adults, with the money from the sale of the drug said to be used for school construction.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has signed two bills and has passed Amendment 64, a voter initiative that legalized recreational use of the drug by residents above 21 years old, New York Daily News reports.
Colorado is anticipating millions in tax revenues as the bills lay out the framework for marijuana retail sales, cultivation, and product manufacturing, the report added.
Although Hickenlooper remains doubtful whether or not the sale will serve his country any good, he said that he is certain that the marijuana industry will create more jobs, adding that since the voters have passed Amendment 64 by a clear majority, the government plans to implement the law as soon as possible.
Director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project, Mason Tvert has said that the new excise tax will rise by 24.1 dollars in 2014, all of which will be contributed for public school construction.
Tvert also said that the marijuana legalization will see law enforcement savings worth 12 million dollars next year, adding that the idea behind the low drug prices is to put the underground marijuana market out of business.
Meanwhile, an independent analysis by the Colorado Center on Law and Policy found that the state is likely to see 'combined savings and additional revenue worth 60 million as Colorado's budget with a potential for this number to double after 2017.
