Joe Amon, The Denver PostAlfredo Borj, 14, works on his layup every chance he gets at the new basketball court in Cottonwood Park very near to his home at the Cottonwood apartments on Nov. 30, 2018, in Parachute. The court was paid for thanks to an influx in marijuana tax revenue.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostBudtender Desrie Hayhurst gives Anthony Lampshire of Parachute a smell of a rolled joint as he shops in the open air showroom at the Tumbleweed Parachute Dispensary in Parachute.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostTom Wilke, Manzanola School District Superintendent and K-12 Principal stands in the school's old boiler room in Manzanola. The room is filled with outdated equipment and still houses the retired asbestos-laden boiler.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostManzanola Jr-Sr High School 6th, 7th and 8th grade students cross Grande Ave. on their way to lunch at the elementary school a few blocks from the Jr-Sr high school in Manzanola.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostA sign supporting a bond measure for funding to secure a BEST Grant for the Manzanola Jr-Sr High School and Elementary School is seen in a store window in Manzanola. The measure failed and Manzanola did not secure a BEST grant.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostManzanola Jr-Sr High School's Patsy Romero of Food Services packs up and carries food every morning from the elementary school cafeteria to the Jr-Sr High School kids for breakfast. All the students at the K-12 schools receive free school breakfast and lunch.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostStudents use this small classroom as the breakfast room at Manzanola Jr-Sr High School.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostA large crack runs down a wall in the Manzanola Elementary School gymnasium.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostThis fall, the Montrose County School District opened the new Columbine Middle School. The $33 million project replaced a nearly 60-year-old school building, which was deemed structurally deficient.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post(From left) Columbine Middle School 7th graders Caden Kay and Santana Hernandez work with the 3D printer to build a skeleton in the design side of the fabrication and design lab in Montrose.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostColumbine Middle School 8th grade students Aland Stroud and Torrie Eckerman use a Flight Simulator in the learning center on Dec. 18, 2018, in Montrose.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostSwallows Charter Academy students cross a large area between the modular buildings that make up the school's campus, including rented rooms in a strip mall in Pueblo West. A new facility, which will be paid for using a BEST grant that the school has been trying to attain for six years, will be built on this ground.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostMartina Cahill teaches a kindergarten art class in the library at Swallows Charter Academy in Pueblo West. The library and other parts of the school are housed in a former grocery store, a setup that will soon be replaced with a new two-story brick and mortar facility.
Fred Haberlein murals decorate the town of Antonito, as they do in many other Colorado towns, seen here May 30, 2018, in Antonito. (Photo by Joe Amon/The Denver Post)
Joe Amon, The Denver PostTonya Olivas, left, with Antonito public works, paints as Loretta Gallegos, house keeper, washes down the front steps of the historic Warshauer Mansion in Antonito. Antonito public works is refinishing the mansion to be their new municipal building and town hall.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostThe Antonito public works department uses their front loader during the remodel of a historic building in town to be their new municipal building and town hall on May 30, 2018, in Antonito.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostTegan Welsch-Rainek, owner and co-founder of 420 Green Genie organizes some of her inventory in her dispensary in Antonito.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostTegan Welsch-Rainek, owner and co-founder of 420 Green Genie, tries to open the front door of her dispensary as Fred, her 400-500 pound licensed service animal and guard pig, blocks the entrance. Fred is regarded as a town hero after helping an Antonito police officer capture a woman who was wanted on existing warrants and later was found to be carrying heroin.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostNew sidewalk lighting graces the newly paved Sherman St. on Nov. 29, 2018, in Ridgway.
Joe Amon, The Denver PostBudtender Cody Terras weighes out buds from a strain called "So Cal Al" for Micheal Rose of Olathe at Fiddlers Green cannabis dispensary in Ridgway.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
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Alfredo Borj, 14, works on his layup every chance he gets at the new basketball court in Cottonwood Park very near to his home at the Cottonwood apartments on Nov. 30, 2018, in Parachute. The court was paid for thanks to an influx in marijuana tax revenue.
ExpandBy Kevin Hamm | khamm@denverpost.com | The Denver Post, Jon Murray | jmurray@denverpost.com | The Denver Post, John Aguilar | jaguilar@denverpost.com | The Denver Post and David Migoya | The Denver Post
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From the smallest hamlets to Colorado’s capital, dozens of communities have allowed sales of recreational marijuana since legalization took effect. Click on the locators to see how several have spent the resulting tax money.
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