Pueblo expects to collect nearly $56K from retail marijuana taxes

Pueblo County commissioners expect to collect nearly $56,000 in sales tax from recreational pot sales in January.

Only two marijuana stores, The Greener Side and Marisol Therapeutics, were open for recreational sales last month. In all, about $932,000 worth of marijuana was sold between the two stores.

“Being really the only real retail marijuana outlet in southern Colorado, the numbers don’t surprise me,” said county commissioner Liane “Buffie” McFadyen.

The tax revenue goes to the county’s general fund. McFadyen said she expects a big chunk of the sales tax will be used to pay for utility costs when the Emergency Services Center and the new judicial building open. McFadyen knows it’s a revenue generator that doesn’t please everyone.

“Certainly we have a sheriff and a prosecutor in our district attorney not very excited about marijuana,” she said. “The likelihood is it’s going to be the best avenue for us to open up our judicial building.”

Three recreational marijuana stores opened in February. The county expects to collect tax revenue from five stores at the end of the month.