Master grower Tucker Eldridge, looks over final trimmed buds in the drying racks at Nature's Herb and Wellness in Garden City, Colorado, in December 2013. (Joe Amon, Denver Post file)

Colorado town approves marijuana sales, inspired by neighbor’s tax revenue

Milliken is getting into the Colorado marijuana business — but only in the town’s industrial zones.

A Milliken Town Board meeting last week featured input from all sides, but ended with enough support among board members to put in place a process for approving up to two retail marijuana establishments. Town staff has work to do drafting regulations, which the town board will then have to adopt.

Projecting the impact of such a move is difficult, as town manager Leonard Wiest said it would take at least a year for a business to set up in town. It’s not for lack of interest. Wiest counted three marijuana-related business interests at Wednesday’s town board meeting.

Budget impact is one of the biggest reasons town officials have taken a second look at marijuana despite voters rejecting the opening of retail shops in town 64 percent to 36 percent in November 2015.

Milliken is in Weld County, southwest of Greeley.

Milliken officials point to Garden City, a Weld County town that credits marijuana for half its annual revenue — $1.3 million last year — as a model for the community, particularly when it comes to getting town projects complete.

Read more of this story at greeleytribune.com

This story was first published on GreeleyTribune.com