Cannabis Taxes Yield $2M in Scholarships for Pueblo County, Colorado

Pueblo County, Colorado is awarding more than $2 million in cannabis excise sales tax scholarships to local institutions, including $1 million to Pueblo Community College (PCC), the Pueblo Chieftain reports. The Colorado State University (CSU) Pueblo Foundation will receive $616,000; CSU Pueblo Athletics will see $385,000; and the Pueblo African American Concern Organization will receive $26,000.

The entities will be allowed to distribute the funds to students at their discretion so long as the students are residents of the county. Last spring semester, PCC awarded 10 scholarships under its Return to Earn program—for students who return to college later in life—funded by cannabis tax dollars.

PCC President Patty Erjavec said having the funds is “a tremendous tool” for the college’s advertising and recruiting department “because they know they have these funds in their back pocket and it’s easy to get to.”

“We know we have a unique, diverse community, and so to have the opportunity to provide scholarships to a diverse group of students is a real advantage.”— Erjavec to the Chieftain

Erjavec added that in the spring semester, PCC funded 752 scholarships with $800,000 in scholarship money derived from cannabis taxes.

CSU Pueblo Director of Athletics Paul Plinske told the Chieftain that that funding helps the program “bring in national-caliber student-athletes to enrich the life of CSU Pueblo.”

The Colorado scholarship program was first approved by voters in 2015.