Pubdate: Sun, 30 Dec 2012
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Steve Raabe
Page: 6K

Marijuana

MUCH IS YET TO BE DETERMINED ABOUT STORES

Marijuana is poised to make a big splash in Colorado business after 
the passage of Amendment 64, allowing its legal sale and consumption.

A series of events in 2013 will determine just how big the industry may become.

Before retail stores open, state officials will apply licensing 
standards and excise-tax rates. Local governments also will decide 
whether they will impose sales taxes or prohibit retail sales in 
their jurisdictions.

The industry's financial impact could be significant, based on early 
projections.

In a fiscal-impact study, the Colorado Center on Law & Policy 
estimates that legal marijuana sales initially could be as much as 
$270 million a year. Those sales would produce state and local taxes 
of $47 million a year, plus savings of $12 million a year in law 
enforcement costs.

Marijuana tax revenue dedicated to school construction would create 
an estimated 372 new jobs, according to the study.

Business investment could be slowed by concerns about how, or if, the 
federal government will enforce the federal prohibition on marijuana.

"That raises potentially serious legal and ethical issues," said Troy 
Eid, a narcotics-law expert and partner with Greenberg Traurig LLP. 
"Until Congress acts, business leaders need to be very cautious about 
investing in Colorado's recreational-marijuana industry."

Employers also will need to deal with the complex legal issue of how 
to treat workers who violate company policies by smoking legal 
marijuana while off duty.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom