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Legalising Cannabis in the state has been a bonanza for potheads and
the IRS – and sparked renewed debate in the UK by Taylor Garcia & Meg Pettit
“There were so many different cop cars
out front of my house, I thought there
had been an accident,” says Jake Sunter,
recalling the day his home was searched
for marijuana by the police.
For 21-year-old Jake, it was the
beginning of a long legal journey, that
would mean much heartache – but see
the legalisation of the recreational use of
marijuana in the state of Colorado.
The state of Colorado in America’s
south-west is mainly known for the Rocky
Mountains and its beautiful ski resorts.
These remote towns make their money
from the out-of-towners who fly in from all
over the United States to enjoy something
they can experience in no other state.
Most of these small ski towns are
famed for their gourmet restaurants and
high quality hotels. They are the perfect
destination for family visits, business
trippers and couples seeking a romantic
break. But with recreational marijuana
now legal, many small towns are
wondering what the future may hold.
Colorado will need time to adjust,
especially to the commercial implications
for a trade that is still federally illegal in
the United States. The problem is the
proceeds, because Federal law classifies
the drug on a par with heroin and ecstasy,
and thus no bank accounts can be used for
transactions.
For the state, this makes money harder
to track, regulate and tax. Million-dollar
drug traders have to operate cash only.
And stashing it away is the big problem.
Dealers are having to carry around cashfilled envelopes – and even pay five-figure
tax bills to the Revenue men with thick
wads of $20s.
The state is projected to take $67 million
marijuana taxes in 2014 – which it will
deposit in national banks. But getting the
cash into Colorado’s coffers is a fraught
business.
It’s not only unwieldy, but dangerous.
To deter robberies, stores are staging
deliveries using decoy drivers, installing
“
The turn-around towards
legalization of weed came fast,
after 55% of voters approved
constitutional Amendment 64
passed in November 2012
”
state of the art CCTV sysyems and even
hiring armed guards to ride shotgun.
One north Denver trader said:
“Somebody is going to get hurt.”
And Betty Aldworth, former deputy
director of the National Cannabis Industry
Association, says: “The lack of access to
banking is hands-down the single most
dangerous aspect of legal marijuana.”
The turn-around towards legalization
of weed came fast, after 55% of voters
approved constitutional Amendment 64,
passed in November 2012. Democratic
Governor John Hickenlooper didn’t
waste any time and he wrote the rules for
transactions, covering everything from
packaging to advertising.
But the first store didn’t open until
January 2014. In two years, Colorado has
opened up a market that for years has been
taboo. The Federal government is well
aware of the contradictory banking rules,
but there is little sign that Washington is
ready to address the issue.
History, the long & winding road
Of all the narcotics in all the world, down
all the endless passage of years, cannabis
sativa or hemp has acquired a demonic
reputation second to no other drug.
From the Assassins’ narcotic glimpse of a
Paradise to the rock ’n’ rollers mindblower
of choice, marijuana has been imbued
across the generations with potencies that
are nothing short of satanic.
How else to explain a US Federal drug
adviser reporting that after “two puffs” on
marijuana cigarettte “I was turned into a
bat”. Reefer madness indeed. T