According to Forbes last week, $2.01 million in tax revenue (which is 1 percent the annual total tax revenue of New Hampshire) was brought into Colorado since the first marijuana store opened under the enactment of Amendment 64 on Jan. 1. Also last week, New Hampshire’s house of representatives passed preliminary legislation to legalize marijuana itself. While potentially great for New Hampshire, the question in Colorado is, “how can we earn more?”

These earnings surpassed both the Department of Revenue and Governor John Hickenlooper’s projections. Before January started, the projected revenue for the first full year of retail sale was about $67 million. After January, the Governor’s office has adjusted their projection to $98 million. The Department of Revenue expects even more, upward of $107 million.

The way marijuana is taxed is confusing in itself, but the way we tax could very well be where we look to bring in more money. When any 21-year-old walks into a store and buys his herb, that sale is subject to 10 percent of marijuana retail tax and up to 3 percent of state, city or county sales tax. That itself is projected to bring in over $65 million this year. The rest, and the bulk, of the revenue comes from an excise tax.

Indirect to the 21-year-old walking in the door, this is the tax between retail store and cultivator. It’s not counted toward the consumer, but it’s a rare case where a dispensary will front the bulk of that cost.

The city of Denver brought in over half of what was earned in January. That is to be expected. It is, after all, the population hub of Colorado, but only seven counties and nine cities allow legal retail sale. Is that not cutting out a great amount of consumers?

In 2007, Denver decriminalized possession of up to an ounce, but the federal government shut that down within months. They are allowing a recreational guinea pig in Colorado because it’s all about the money that could potentially be made and saved.

According to a study by the University of Washington in 2007, federal decriminalization could save $7.7 billion in trial costs and jail services. That’s $2 billion more than what the NBA generates per year. But countless sheriff’s offices are calling on the governor to fund training for cops to keep it out of hands of minors and discourage public consumption.

The first $40 million of the excise tax will go to school construction, probably the foundation of why Amendment 64 was passed in the first place. After that, retail revenue will fund youth prevention, recovery and addiction treatment, and public service announcements like the Drive High, Get a DUI campaign, which receives $1.9 million for its TV spots.

Nine counties in all of Colorado allow retail weed. Yet, its possession is decriminalized throughout the state. This and the combination of uncompetitive prices at the store are causing the pre-Amendment 64 users to go to their drug dealers. They aren’t habitual bad guys, just smart consumers. After some investigative reporting, the consensus around campus is about $25-$35 for an eighth of an ounce of marijuana. The same amount at a retail store could be higher than $60, according to the taxable equation on colorado.gov.

These are missed consumers that could be sending money right into the state for all of us to see. Busting every dealer that slings 20 sacks is tiresome, costly and, at most, marginally effective. Buying out customers, which takes them off the street, is another goal of Amendment 64. This helps bring in more consumer spending revenue to the state.

Amendment 64 is working better than expected—that is the bottom line from January’s numbers. But every product has its wrinkles in the beginning. We’re setting the example for the country and a good portion of the world on how to do this right. On this stage, Colorado has the ability to blow away expectations.

brjthomp@mavs.coloradomesa.edu