Feds Give Colorado Authority To Collect Pot Taxes

DENVER (AP) — The federal government has reluctantly agreed to let Colorado be the first state to collect taxes from the legal sale of recreational marijuana, but it has also made clear it doesn't agree with the move and may try to stop it, if isn't tightly controlled.

Instead of keeping a low profile with the money, however, some Colorado lawmakers are want to use millions of dollars they've collected from pot sales to seek matching federal funds to keep kids of drugs.

The plan calls for transferring $3.5 million from the state's marijuana cash fund to its general fund and then sending the same amount to a state department that would apply for the federal match.Supporters say the move shouldn't cause any concerns, it simply acknowledges and avoids potential conflict.

Meanwhile, former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens thinks the federal government should legalize marijuana. The 94-year-old retired justice tells NPR that public opinion has changed on the issue.

Stevens also says that there isn't much distinction between marijuana and alcoholic beverages.

He says that the prohibition against alcohol in the early 20th century is generally thought not to have been worth the cost and that will be how marijuana is viewed in the future.