Illinois state lawmakers looking into legalizing recreational marijuana are getting some advice from a state where pot is already legal.
Colorado's state revenue chief Barbara Brohl told a legislative hearing yesterday that her state has collected nearly 402-million-dollars in taxes from legalized recreational pot, but she says it comes at a cost. She said good marijuana regulation takes longer to develop, costs more than expected and is more difficult than other kinds of laws.
She says Colorado uses its pot tax revenue for abuse prevention and treatment programs and for education about the different forms of pot, but it's also used for school construction.
Illinois lawmakers say as many as 750,000 people in the state already smoke marijuana.