Letter to the editor: Keep marijuana businesses out of Alamosa

I have read several thousand pages and sat through a couple hundred hours of presentations from very informed individuals about the pros and cons of marijuana. Sometimes, I feel like the minority fighting against the majority. 

Taking a look at the Colorado Municipal League gives me reassurance in mankind and logical thinkers.  They show that out of the municipalities listed: 168 have opted out of having retail marijuana in their cities, 8 Licensing, 69 Taxes, 40 Action Taken.  That means: 245, 90 percent of Colorado municipalities have taken action to address retail marijuana establishments in their community. They opted out.

Alamosa citizens need to log on to smartcolorado.org  and become informed about the positive and negative aspects of marijuana. 

Last week Sheriff Kirt Taylor came to Alamosa and spoke to a group of concerned citizens about what the marijuana industry has done to their city. One item he mentioned was the $200,000 of tax money for roads, $125,000 was sent on law enforcement and the rest on administrative costs. Many other social costs have beleaguered the city. He commented that cities won’t see the tax money promised by the industry; social costs are way offsetting any tax income from marijuana.

The jobs being created by the pot industry are paying minimum wage and none of the workers are getting off of Medicaid, Food Stamps and housing assistance programs. Thousands more that have come to Colorado ‘looking for jobs’ or to get high are unemployed.

More shops will not employ many people and the tax revenue will not offset the social costs that a community will incur.

I have met people in Fort Garland and Antonito and they are so disappointed with what their town is like now with the retail marijuana shops. 

Amendment 64 allows for the local governments to regulate the marijuana industry.

Colorado municipalities and counties have the authority under Amendment 64 to prohibit commercialized recreational marijuana or permit the sale of recreational marijuana within their jurisdictions. Numerous factors, including social costs, have resulted in an overwhelming majority of Colorado cities and counties opting out of marijuana commercialization.

I support our town remaining marijuana free and opting out.

Sincerely,

Terry Wiley

Alamosa