The first tax revenue figures from Colorado marijuana sales are putting smiles on the faces of state officials. The month of January saw nearly $1 million in sales from legal pot distributors, and that's just from one county, Fox News reported.
Pueblo County will receive $55,000 in pot sales tax from January, while the state of Colorado will take $80,000.
"During January, we took a million dollars out of the black market, while generating $55,000 in tax revenue for our local community," Sal Pace, Pueblo County Commissioner, told Fox News. "We recognize that the eyes of the world are watching us and we are proud to have erected a robust regulatory environment in Pueblo County."
Mike Stetler, who has run a medical marijuana business since 2008, opened a pot retail store on Jan. 1 in Pueblo County. Stetler told Fox News he never imagined selling half a million dollars' worth of his product in one month.
"It's been pretty good. [The customers] have been a little less than what I expected of the population here in Colorado, and a little more than I expected from out-of-staters and [visitors] from out of the country," Stetler said.
Stetler said he even had celebrities visit his shop.
"We had Tommy Chong here," Stetler told Fox News. Chong was the actor in the "Cheech and Chong" movies about pot. "Nothing's going to be replacing that."
The tax revenue will be put to good use, such as funding for Colorado's public school system.
"The county will be using it for a number of issues," Pueblo County Clerk Gilbert "Bo" Ortiz told Fox News. "Our revenue isn't exceeding expenditures, so hopefully it will go to shore up the challenges."
But the boost in revenue probably won't be the same outcome for February, Stetler said.
"Jan. 1- that's history, and I don't think history repeats itself very often. Most of the people didn't even smoke weed. They just wanted to see that receipt and be a part of history, like Woodstock," Stetler told Fox News.
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