Amendment 64 in Colorado would legalize marijuana and regulate it in a manner similar to alcohol. Voters will have a chance to vote on it this November. As anyone familiar with the concept of marijuana legalization knows, there is money to be made from taxes and money to be saved in law enforcement costs. How much of course depends on the cannabis-using population of a state and how much money they spend enforcing marijuana prohibition.

Supporters of Amendment 64 have released their own numbers as to how much the state can make with the passage of marijuana legalization. The highlights include:

- the measure would initially result in $60 million annually in combined revenue and savings for state and local governments in Colorado, which could double to more than $100 million within the first five years of implementation; save local and state law enforcement officials more than $12 million in the first year of operation; generate $24 million annually in state revenue for the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) capital construction program; and create more than 350 new jobs, the majority of which will be in the construction industry.

And obviously that jobs number doesn’t include the industry that will grow around legally regulated cannabis. Legal marijuana will be a boon to the economy of any state that gives it a chance.

- Joe Klare

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