Colorado Auctions Marijuana-Themed License Plates to Raise Funds

(Bloomberg) -- Colorado Governor Jared Polis is leaning hard into his state’s reputation of being the cannabis capital of the U.S.

The state is auctioning off 14 marijuana-themed license plates to raise money to support programs for people with disabilities. Individuals have the option of bidding on plates that read “BONG” or “HASH.” As of Tuesday, the highest bid is $6,510 for a plate that displays “ISIT420.”

Colorado, along with Washington became the first U.S. states to legalize recreational marijuana when voters approved the measure in 2012. And the industry has been a boon the state’s finances. Colorado recorded $88.5 million of state excise tax and $245.5 million of retail marijuana state sales tax revenues in the 2020 fiscal year, according to financial statements.

Auction winners will have the option to use the configuration of letters and numbers on their Colorado license plate or purchase a novelty plate. The winning bidder will have the exclusive right to use the word or phrase on their license plate at a later date. The auction runs until 4:20 p.m. local time on April 20.

“Colorado is proud of our creativity and ingenuity,” Polis said in a press release. “We’ve been a leader in the cannabis space for over a decade and this effort allows us to fund critical projects and programs in our disability community.”

Money earned from the auction will benefit the Colorado Disability Funding Committee and will be used to finance disability application assistance and programs designed to increase the quality of life and independence of Colorado’s disability community, the governor’s office said in the release.

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