Colorado City Approves Pot Tax

FRUITA (AP) – A small western Colorado town that doesn’t have a medical marijuana dispensary has become the first in Colorado to levy a city tax on pot.

Voters in Fruita, a town of about 11,000, decided Tuesday to impose a 5 percent sales tax on marijuana. The town, however, has no dispensaries that sell marijuana, though one application is pending. City leaders said they wanted to be ready with a tax source in case the dispensary opens and requires city resources such as additional police patrol.

The tax passed 1,533 to 936. Already dispensaries pay a 2.9 percent state sales tax, though Colorado officials aren’t sure exactly how much comes from the sale of pot.