Colorado marijuana sales to fund more than $2M in scholarships for school

A county in Colorado will be awarding more than $2 million in marijuana sales tax scholarships to local schools and organizations for the coming fall and spring semesters.

Pueblo County on Wednesday announced that it would be awarding more than $2 million in scholarships earned from its marijuana sales tax, The Pueblo Chieftain reported.

Before the resolution for the scholarships was approved last month, Board of County Commissioners Garrison Ortiz said, “What we have is a very competitive process that I think really draws out some innovation and creativity when it comes to how these dollars are awarded.”

The scholarships funds will be divided as follows: $1 million to Pueblo Community College, $616,000 to the Colorado State University-Pueblo Foundation, $385,000 to the Colorado State University athletics program and $26,000 to the Pueblo African American Concern Organization.

These organizations will be permitted to distribute these funds how they see fit. Students must be residents of Pueblo County to be eligible, the Chieftain reports.

“These organizations know best their residents and community to allocate these funds in a way for the best benefit,” Pueblo County Commissioner Chris Wiseman said according to the newspaper. Wiseman added that he was particularly interested in how these funds would benefit students returning to higher education later in their lives.

The marijuana-tax-funded scholarships were started in 2015 and have grown since then, the Chieftain noted. Originally, the scholarships only applied to students who graduated from Pueblo County schools; now they’re eligible for any county resident with a GED who plans on pursuing higher education in the U.S.

“The program has certainly evolved in many great ways, but it’s something we’re looking to perfect and continue to grow,” Ortiz said.