From: rpattree2@gmail.com   
      
   Colorado's Marijuana Legalization Creates 10,000 New Jobs   
      
   By Christina Sarich   
      
   Colorado's marijuana legalization is quickly turning the state into one of the   
   most prosperous places in the country. Not only has Colorado projected   
   marijuana sales to be a billion dollar industry, but in January of 2014 alone,   
   the state pulled in over $   
   3.5 million in tax revenue from legal pot sales. If that trend continues, the   
   state will enjoy an additional $40 million in tax revenue in the first year of   
   legalization. But that's not all - you know those dismal unemployment figures   
   plaguing the nation?   
    Not in states where pot is legal. Colorado is reporting 10,000 new jobs, all   
   from the legalization of both recreational and medical marijuana.   
      
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   A recent report by the Marijuana Industry Group indicates that since January,   
   the state's new-found recreational pot trade has created upwards of 10,000 new   
   jobs, with 2,000 joining the green collar workforce just in the past few   
   months - this doesn't    
   include jobs created by medical marijuana sales.   
      
   The state is now enjoying one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation -   
   6% - which is the lowest it has been since the recession started. So much for   
   those old sayings about pot-heads being lazy. That's an additional 10,000   
   people in a labor force    
   out working, instead of collecting unemployment. That's good for everyone.   
      
   Bud trimmers, for example, are being paid $15 an hour, while protestors have   
   had to picket at McDonald's headquarters because the company doesn't want to   
   raise their minimum pay to that amount. I'd say medicinal weed and hemp are   
   far better for our    
   economy than McD's fries anyway.What's more - the marijuana industry only   
   makes up 0.4 percent of Colorado's 2.6 million jobs; all of the positions are   
   new and did not exist a year ago. This means that legalization basically   
   created an economy out of    
   thin air. And even more enticing is this little fact - many of the jobs are   
   paying higher than the national minimum wage.   
      
   There are currently 21 states where marijuana is now legal, as of late March   
   when Utah passed a bill to legalize medical marijuana that utilizes extracts   
   of THC at less than .03%. But there are 9 other states that have pending   
   legislature to pass medical    
   or recreational marijuana in 2014. Click the link to see the pending pot   
   states helping the US reach a critical legalization tipping point.   
      
   This article was published at NationofChange at: http://www.nati   
   nofchange.org/colorado-s-marijuana-legalization-creates-new-jobs-1400941446.   
   All rights are reserved.   
      
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