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Six Months After Legalizing Marijuana, Two Big Things have Happened in Colorado

posted by azrael on Friday July 04 2014, @04:20AM   
from the tax-not-war dept.

Monogamous Coward writes:

It's now been six months since Colorado enacted its historic marijuana legalization policy, and two big things have already happened:

1. Colorado's cash crop is turning out to be even more profitable than the state could have hoped.

   Tax revenue from marijuana sales is expected to top $130M over the next fiscal year.

2. Denver crime rates have suddenly fallen.

   The Denver city- and county-wide murder rate has dropped 52.9% year-to-year since recreational marijuana use was legalized in January.

• Want steady money, do medicine Want steady money, do medicine (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 04 2014, @03:50PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 04 2014, @03:50PM (#64203)

  Tell that to the kids coming out of school who can't get jobs as nurses.

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• Re:Want steady money, do medicine Re:Want steady money, do medicine (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 04 2014, @05:06PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 04 2014, @05:06PM (#64247)

  If they can't get jobs as nurses then either their grades suck or they're not looking very hard. There's a chronic shortage of nurses.

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  • There's a chronic shortage of nurses. There's a chronic shortage of nurses. (Score: 1) by Uncle_Al on Friday July 04 2014, @05:39PM

    by Uncle_Al (1108) on Friday July 04 2014, @05:39PM (#64263)

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/10/13/hospital-job-cuts/2947929/ [usatoday.com]

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    • Re:There's a chronic shortage of nurses. (Score: 1) by cykros on Friday July 04 2014, @11:52PM

      by cykros (989) on Friday July 04 2014, @11:52PM (#64359)

      The new health care law was supposed to ease the burden on hospitals by expanding Medicaid coverage to more low-income Americans, who often use hospital services in emergencies, then don't pay their bills. But 26 states, including Tennessee, rejected the ACA's offer of federal funding to expand Medicaid. That decision led to about a third of the job cuts by Nashville-based Vanderbilt, Howser says.

      That explains why it's so out of left field to me. Here in MA, the hospitals are doing anything but laying folks off.

      26 states really are putting up with elected officials who can't stop them from paying into this program, but are REFUSING the benefits of it, causing a healthcare recession in their states? I think some folks need to pay a little more attention next time they go to the ballot box.

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