When recreational weed was first legalized in Colorado in 2012, I had no idea that things would evolve at the rate that they have over the ensuing decade.
A large number of states soon followed suit, with some legislatures making changes in state law while others passed amendments or ballot initiatives in statewide elections.
My home state just recently legalized recreational cannabis and they’re already seeing a lot of tax money from the legal sales. Portions of the tax money were allocated for education, while others were set aside for statewide infrastructure and health care. It’s reassuring to see these legalization efforts taking off without any serious issues to dissuade anyone who is on the fence regarding cannabis. I live in Tarzana in Los Angeles, California and my friends and I all thought that California would easily be the first state to legalize cannabis for recreational use because they were the first state to implement a medical marijuana program in 1996. Although we famously failed to legalize recreational cannabis in the 2010 election, California was the first state to vote on cannabis legalization when it did so in 1972, garnering over 30% of support in a time when the Drug War was really taking off. However, California ultimately passed a recreational cannabis law in 2016 and now we have joined the ranks of other western states in having recreational marijuana available. Being in Tarzana, I have to pay both state and county taxes on all of my recreational marijuana purchases. West Hollywood and Los Angeles are even worse, with combined taxes well over 20% on all sales.