Recreational marijuana sales had another record year in 2020, so it's not surprising that cash-strapped causes are looking at cannabis taxes as a way to raise revenues. Now a new ballot initiative proposed by a group of state legislators and public-education support groups calls for adding another 5 percent tax on marijuana sales to fund a learning-enrichment program that would provide tutoring and after-school education services for Colorado children.
Supporters of the proposed Learning Enrichment and Academic Progress (LEAP) program want to see lower- and middle-income parents of Colorado school-aged kids to receive an annual stipend of around $1,500 per child for out-of-school learning services, including after-school programs, individual tutoring and specialized after-school learning classes. In its first year, an estimated $90 million of the proposed $150 million program would come from marijuana sales.