Pubdate: Mon, 25 May 2015 Source: Pueblo Chieftain (CO) Copyright: 2015 The Pueblo Chieftain Contact: http://www.chieftain.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1613 Author: Jimmy Newmoon Roybal PLANT THE SEEDS OF RESEARCH PEDCO's request not to use the half-cent sales tax for marijuana businesses is nearly the most anti-business, anti-development stance that they can take. Marijuana businesses are not just about retail outlets for recreational use. The long-term money is in marijuana research and the establishment of a nascent and niche pharmaceutical industry. Marijuana consumerism has a limited growth horizon, because as other states legalize our competitive advantage is lost. However, our competitive advantage to create a research-based pharmaceutical business around marijuana is slipping away every second. The half-cent sales tax might be one of the only ways that public financing could be provided for a research-based marijuana industry. This could be a further competitive advantage for Pueblo to attract solid research businesses here. Research is extremely capital-intensive and it can be very hard to replace or move, so there is a much greater chance that a research outfit would stay in Pueblo if we provide public finances to it through the half-cent sales tax. Marijuana businesses actually are contributing to economic development in Pueblo County. The use of the half-cent sales tax to provide public finance to marijuana research would be a step in the correct direction. As citizens, we must look toward our future and tell our leaders that we do not want them touching the half-cent sales tax money unless it can also be used to support research-based marijuana businesses. With the legalization of marijuana, we the electorate, have handed our civic and economic leaders one of the greatest competitive economic advantages that ever has existed, and we expect them to use this advantage to create wealth in our community. Jimmy Newmoon Roybal Pueblo - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom