Colorado Governor Proposes to Use Cannabis Tax Dollars to Help the Homeless

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper just announced a new plan to utilize cannabis tax revenue to help fight against the growing homelessness epidemic. It’s the same issue that Hickenlooper first proposed that he would address when he first came to office.

The Governor’s fiscal year 2017-2018 proposal has been described as “aggressive,” and aims to use the $12.3 million that the state has received from annual cannabis tax revenue to begin building houses for those who “experience chronic and episodic homelessness,” according to The Denver Post. Additionally, Hickenlooper also proposed a $6 million a year plan to provide housing for low-income residents, as well as those with behavioral health issues.

Hickenlooper’s plan demands action to help suppress the rapid growth of homelessness in Colorado, which is reported to be one of the highest increasing numbers in the country. In 2016 alone, there was a six percent increase in homelessness. The Governor was once a business owner in downtown Denver during the 1980s, and he stated that he became very familiar with the rising issue. “I just became really acquainted with the entire issue of chronic homelessness and a number of the individuals,” Hickenlooper said. “So I was concerned about it.” He also noted that he often tried to employ homeless workers on occasion.

Currently, cannabis taxes made in Colorado over the past year were saved for law enforcement, health care and substance abuse prevention/treatment. Hickenlooper’s plan would actually require a change in law to put into action, but if enacted, could split up to $16.3 million in cannabis tax revenue towards three separate housing packages.

Many are expected to oppose his plan during the upcoming legislative session, but Hickenlooper is confident that his strong stance on the issue can help countless individuals, “My argument—and it’s the same argument—is we spend more than twice as much . . . perpetuating lives of misery by letting people live under bridges than we would getting them into housing and giving them wrap-around services—by which I mean, job training at the top of the list, counseling for addictions and medications for mental health,” Hickenlooper stated.