This Colorado Town Is Using Its $1.5 Million In Pot Taxes For An Amazing Cause

What's a town to do with all the excess money they earned from taxing legal cannabis? Help the homeless, of course.

Aurora, Colorado, just announced they'd be allocating the $1.5 million in tax revenue generated by recreational marijuana use to help the city's homeless population. As the third largest city in Colorado, Aurora will have the chance to make a huge difference in the lives of its most vulnerable residents.

While they first made their plans known last September, Aurora city officials are now able to distribute the funds to various nonprofit groups. The Colfax Community Network, for example, will be receiving $200,000 to better support displaced families living in motels. Another chunk of money will be used to help the Comitis Crisis Center and Aurora Mental Health buy vans to be used for homeless outreach.

In the wake of pot taxes affecting so many communities positively, other cities are considering jumping on board as well. Just this March, Los Angeles city officials proposed taxing cannabis sales to benefit the growing homeless population. If passed, the measure could generate as much as $16.7 million annually from medical marijuana alone. With the US economy slowly rebuilding, it seems there's never been a better time to legalize cannabis.

Citations: Colorado City To Use $1.5 Million From Pot Tax To Help Homeless (The Huffington Post)