Nerbraska government officials have voiced their displeasure with Colorado voters, and have claimed that Colorado taxpayers should pay Nebraska’s state and local government for the cost of enforcing Nebraska’s anti-cannabis laws. Says one Nebraska official: “They passed a law and didn’t give a second thought to how it would impact surrounding states,” CheyenneCounty sheriff John Jenson told the newspaper. “If they want Colorado to be the HighState and live up to all of those John Denver songs, they can keep it in their four walls. I don’t need Colorado’s problems in Nebraska.”
These “problems” described by the sheriff appear to be invisible to average Americans as evidenced in the fact that Colorado has added far more net new residents than Nebraska in recent years, while experiencing more demand for real estate and a higher per capita income.[i] Legalization appears to have only helped the local economy. Meanwhile, real crime appears to be declining.
[i] According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Nebraska’s home price index increased 5 percent from 2013 to 2014. It increased 9 percent in Colorado. In 2012, the last year data was available form the census, Colorado added 43,000 net new residents while Nebraska lost 5,500 residents. Colorado is ranked 9th in median per capita income while Nebraska is ranked 26th.
