Behind The Mic With Joe Mathieu: Medical Marijuana Money Maker In Mass.?

BOSTON (CBS) – They say nothing is certain but death and taxes.

And we can apparently add people's appetite for pot.

Colorado of course became the first state in the U.S. to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana at the start of this year. And by the looks of things they can't grow enough.

Dispensaries in the state sold more than $14 million worth of pot in just one month, helping the government pull in about $2 million in tax revenues.

And it's no wonder. Colorado slaps a 15-percent excise tax on marijuana plus 13-percent in sales taxes.

Add taxes and fees from medical marijuana and the number is more like $3.5 million.

The money goes to programs designed to keep pot away from kids and for school construction.

But we should not expect that kind of return here in Massachusetts where only medicinal marijuana is legal and where we'll have only a fraction of the dispensaries they have in Colorado.

However, there is an effort to get recreational pot on the ballot this year in Massachusetts.

Groups like NORML and the Marijuana Policy Project, which spent millions to push for recreational pot in Colorado, are already putting money behind a ballot initiative here.

And there have been separate efforts on Beacon Hill.

Law enforcement opposes the idea.

But states need money.

And with numbers like these in Colorado we could see many more states going green.

Follow Joe on Twitter @joemathieuwbz

MORE LOCAL NEWS FROM CBS BOSTON